Cassation Court upholds 10-year sentence for man over murder attempt

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a July Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a repeated offender to 10 years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder his friend in Karak in August 2019.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempting to murder his friend over a financial dispute on August 5 and handed him a 12-year prison term.

However, the court decided to increase the sentence by three years “because the defendant was a repeated offender”.

The victim dropped charges against the defendant during court proceedings, and the tribunal decided to reduce the prison term to 10 years as a result.

Court papers said the victim was riding in his car with some friends when he was obstructed by the defendant.

The defendant would always borrow money from the victim, who is his friend, and stopped him demanding cash," court documents said.

The victim refused, which prompted the defendant to pull a switchblade from his pocket, the court stated.

“The defendant stabbed the victim multiple times in the back and stole JD3,000 that were in the compartment glove of his vehicle,” the court maintained, the defendant drew a switchblade and stabbed him in the neck and chest.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital and survived the stabbing incident after undergoing a few surgeries, the court papers added.

The defendant contested his ruling via his lawyer arguing that there were “legal errors in the investigation procedures”.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the 10-year sentence ruling.

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment. 

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mahmoud Ebtoush, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi, Qassem Dughmi, and Mohammad Khashashneh.