Court upholds 20-year jail term for woman convicted of murder

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an October 2016 Criminal Court ruling sentencing a woman to 20 years in prison after convicting her of murdering a man at her home in September 2014.

The defendant was declared guilty by the Criminal Court of murder and was handed the maximum punishment after she was convicted of stabbing the 21-year-old victim while at her home on September 28, 2014. 

The victim died from one stab wound to the heart, according to the court verdict.

Six months before the incident, the court said, the defendant and the victim engaged in an “illegitimate affair”.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, the victim went to the defendant’s house but she learned that someone was coming to visit her.

“The defendant asked the victim to leave, but he refused, and an argument ensued,” the 11-page verdict said.

The defendant grabbed a kitchen knife “and stabbed the victim once, then headed to her mother’s house and informed her about the incident”.

The Criminal Court attorney general appealed the verdict, stating that the defendant deserves a tougher punishment “because the murder was premeditated”.

Meanwhile, the defendant also appealed the verdict arguing that “she should benefit from a reduction in penalty because she committed the murder in a moment of rage and while arguing with the victim”.

However, the Cassation Court ruled that the Criminal Court’s verdict was correct and the defendant received the appropriate punishment.

The Cassation Court tribunal comprised judges Hisham Tal, Basil Abu Anzeh, Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat and Mohammad Tarawneh.