Punishment of father who attempted to kill sons upheld by highest court

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a Criminal Court ruling issued in January that sentenced a father to 10 years for attempting to murder his two sons in May 2011.

The suspect was first sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of attempting to hack his sons with an axe while they slept at home on May 7, 2011.

The Criminal Court later reduced the sentence by half because one of the victims dropped charges against his father, according to the seven-page verdict.

Court papers said the defendant had attempted to molest one of his daughters a day before the incident and she informed her mother and the victims.

One of the two victims had a big fight with the defendant over the sister’s accusation and the father left the house, threatening to kill his sons, says the court verdict, adding that the family filed a complaint against the defendant at the Family Protection Department.

The following day, the court maintained, “the defendant got hold of an axe and entered his sons’ room from a widow and attacked them while they were sleeping.”

“The suspect struck his sons’ faces and heads with the axe, but they managed to stop him and he was later arrested by police,” according to the court.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court’s ruling, claiming that “he carried out the attack in a fit of rage.”

The five-judge tribunal at the Court of Cassation, which convened recently, ruled however that the Criminal Court went through the proper channels when issuing its ruling and therefore upheld the 10-year verdict.