Death sentence overturned for man who killed five-year-old nephew

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has overturned an October Criminal Court verdict, sentencing a man to death after convicting him of murdering his nephew in May 2019.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of stabbing the five-year-old boy to death on May 30 and handed him the capital punishment.

However, the higher court ruled that “the premeditated murder condition is not present in the case and the Criminal Court needs to revisit its ruling again to consider this factor”.

"It was clear to the court that the murder happened the minute the defendant spotted the victim, and he did not plan it," the higher court ruled.

The defendant's lawyer also argued that his client “did not plot the murder and that he stabbed the victim the minute he saw him,” according to court papers.

The lawyer also contended that there were "irregularities in the investigation procedures", according to the higher court.

“We decided to overturn the verdict and return the case to the Criminal Court to consider our verdict since the prosecution failed to provide any evidence that the crime was committed in a premeditated fashion,” the higher court stated.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the ruling arguing that the defendant deserved the verdict he had received.

Court papers said that one month before the incident, the victim’s father filed a complaint against the defendant at a police station because he beat up the victim.

"The defendant was upset about the action taken by his brother against him," court papers said.

On the day of the murder, the court maintained “the defendant saw the victim walking on the street and decided to harm him to revenge his brother’s legal actions against him".

“The defendant grabbed a knife and stabbed the victim multiple times on his back and chest,” the court added.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival, the court added.

The Cassation Court comprised of judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Fawzi Nahar, Hayel Amr, Majid Azab and Nayef Samarat.