A man sentenced to one year in prison for killing his sister had his sentence increased to seven years today after the case was returned to the Criminal Court. Jaber Mohammad, 39, was originally sentenced to a one-year prison term by the court in July 2002 for stabbing his 35-year-old married sister eight times on Jan. 22, 2001.
However, after a review by the Court of Cassation, the Criminal Court yesterday overruled the original charge of misdemeanor and found Mohammad guilty of manslaughter. "The defendant knew of his sister’s affair for almost a month and did not kill her, therefore he does not benefit from the fit of fury clause used in the previous ruling," the higher court said.
During the original trial the court ruled that the defendant should benefit from Article 98 of the Penal Code, which states that: "He who commits a crime in a fit of fury caused by an unlawful or dangerous act on the part of the victim benefits from a reduction of penalty."
Source: [The Jordan Times]
That’s good news ladies and gentlemen. At least he didn’t get three months, as is the case with many men that commit so-called "honor crimes." Getting seven years should definitely be seen as a positive sign. If it was up to me though, I would imprison all of them for life.
“A woman in the US used the defense that due to PMS she was in essence in a state of anger that clouded her judgment when she committed a crime. That one, eventually, didn’t fly though.”
Praise Themis! Given the common law system in the US that would have set a very dangerous precedent indeed!
The ‘in an act of fury’ idea exists in many legal contexts around the world. The idea being that if you do it right away — in an act of rage — your mind is not clear and you are somehow less responsible for your actions. If you wait, the idea is that you had time to calm down and become rational, making your acts all the more egregious because you thought about them before you committed them. That aspect of this situation isn’t the problem. Acts committed in rage would flip your lid. A woman in the US used the defense that due to PMS she was in essence in a state of anger that clouded her judgment when she committed a crime. That one, eventually, didn’t fly though.
Finally, some movement in the right direction.
yes this may seem positive that hes getting additionale years, but as a whole it does not seem like good news to me, Natasha.
If i understand this fury clause thing right and the laws and this story, it is all basically saying that if you sister (or whatever relation) comitted that act, then you should kill her right away. Whats up with that? does this law really exist in Jordan? Please explain this fury clause some more.
Article 98 seems reasonable, but maybe it should be changed to omit the ‘unlawful’ part. It will still be up to the judges how to enforce it though.