Cassation Court revokes 8-year sentence in attempted murder case over procedural errors

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has overturned a June 2023 Criminal Court eight-year ruling against a man who was convicted of attempting to murder his brother in August 2020.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder on August 16 and handed him a 12-year prison term.

However, the court reduced the sentence to eight years because the victim dropped charges against the defendant.

But the higher court overturned the verdict after concluding that the Criminal Court “failed to hear the victim's testimony in court”.

“The victim’s whereabouts are known so the Criminal Court relied on his testimony in front of the police and Criminal Court prosecutor,” the higher court ruled.

Therefore, the Criminal Court denied the defendant’s right to cross-examine the victim during the court hearing, the higher court added.

Court papers said the victim engaged in a heated argument with the defendant over a family dispute.

As a result, the court maintained that the “defendant grabbed a pump action gun and fired at his sibling”.

"The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment,” court papers said.

The defendant fled the scene and was later arrested by police, the court papers stated.  

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

The defence also argued that the Criminal Court denied “his client’s right to cross-examine the victim by failing to locate his whereabouts”.

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

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