Man gets 20 years in prison over shooting death

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a January Criminal Court decision sentencing a man to 20 years in prison after convicting him of shooting and killing  a man in Amman in June 2015.

The Criminal Court handed the defendant the maximum punishment after convicting him of shooting and killing the victim on June 11.

Court documents said that a few days before the incident, the defendant had a heated argument with the victim and his relatives.

The families of the victim and the defendant decided to meet to resolve the problem and prevent further escalations, according to court transcripts.

However, conflicts and arguments were renewed and they ended up with the defendant grabbing a machinegun “and heading to the victim’s house”.

In the meantime, the victim, who had weak vision, was outside his house when the defendant approached him and opened fire, court papers said. 

“One of the five bullets that were fired struck the victim in the chest,” court documents added.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival, court papers said

The Criminal Court’s attorney general had asked the higher court to uphold the Criminal Court’s ruling stating that the court followed the proper procedures.

The defendant, through his lawyers, asked the court to hand him a reduced sentence since “he committed the murder in self-defence”.

However, the Cassation Court ruled that the sentence given was satisfactory.

“It was proven to court that the victim’s vision was weak and he was not carrying any weapon on the day of the incident,” the higher court ruled.

Therefore, the Court of Cassation added, the self-defence claim does not exist in this case.

The Cassation Court tribunal comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Saeed Mugheid, Naji Zu’bi and Nayef Samarat.