Man sentenced to 12 years in prison for murder in Karak

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a February Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to 12 years in prison after convicting him of murdering a man during a brawl in Karak in March 2021. 

The court initially declared the defendant guilty of shooting and killing the victim on March 9, and handed him a 20-year prison sentence. 

However, the court later reduced the sentence to 12 years because the victim’s family dropped the charges against the defendant.  

Court papers said that the defendant and the victim engaged in “a heated argument” in the street. 

“The argument became heated, and the defendant drew a gun and fired a round of bullets at the victim’s head, killing him instantly,” the court maintained. 

The court based its ruling on “witnesses who were involved in the brawl”, the court transcripts stated. 

Furthermore, the court also relied on a ballistic report saying that “bullet extracted from the victim matched the gun used by the defendant”. 

The defendant’s lawyer contested the Criminal Court’s ruling, arguing that “the defendant had no intention to kill the victim”. 

“My client was involved in a brawl and the bullet was discharged accidentally,” the lawyer argued. 

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s general attorney asked the Court of Cassation to uphold the ruling.

However, the higher court ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper sentencing procedure, and the verdict issued was appropriate. 

The Court of Cassation judges were Mahmoud Ebtoush, Ibrahim Abu Shamma, Fawzi Nahar, Mohammad Sharari and Majid Azab.