"Whoever kills a soul not in retaliation for a soul or due to corruption on earth, it is as if he had killed all mankind" [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 32], a verse that affirms the sanctity of human life in Islam.
Murder is understood in legal terminology not as defined by most laws, but rather treated clearly through its rulings. Some legal scholars define it as: depriving a soul of its right to life. Others define it as: unjustly taking the life of another human. Or simply: taking a human life. Another definition is: an assault on a human life by an act that results in death.
Punishment for murder in Jordanian law
Murder is manifested by the perpetrator depriving someone's life using any means or actions that result in murder.
The punishment for murder in Jordanian law varies according to criteria specified by the Jordanian Penal Code (16) of (1960), which are as follows:
Criminal intent in murder.
Premeditation by the perpetrator.
Motive and intent behind the murder.
Victim's status.
The connection of the murder with a criminal or misdemeanor crime.
Murder occurring under aggravating circumstances, or mitigating reasons and excuses.
The public right in murder cases:
The public right in murder is represented by execution, or imprisonment, according to the rulings of the judicial body that determines the type of punishment and the duration of the public right in murder, depending on the type of felony and associated circumstances, whether aggravated, mitigated, or linked to any legal violation, whether criminal or misdemeanor. The dropping of the personal right in a murder case does not prevent the continuation of the public right in it.
Punishment for manslaughter
According to the Jordanian Penal Code number (16) for the year (1960) – Article number (64), the act is considered accidental if it results from negligence, lack of precaution, or non-compliance with laws and regulations.
According to the Jordanian Penal Code number (16) for the year (1960) – Article number (343), which stipulates the punishment for manslaughter, whoever causes death by negligence, lack of caution, or non-compliance with laws and regulations is punishable with imprisonment from (6) months to (3) years.
What's the difference between involuntary manslaughter and manslaughter without intent?
The Jordanian legislator does not distinguish between unintentional manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter, considering it a form of manslaughter.
However, the punishment for murder in Jordanian law differs between the punishment for manslaughter and the punishment for involuntary manslaughter, i.e., between death resulting from negligence, lack of precaution, or non-compliance with laws and regulations, and death resulting from the offender's assault despite the absence of criminal intent and the intent to kill, as considered by the law to be harm leading to death, according to what is stipulated in Articles number (330, 330 repeated) of the Jordanian Penal Code.
Punishment for premeditated murder in Jordanian law:
Jordanian legislation in the punishment for premeditated murder defines it as; the intent deliberated before the act, whether conditional upon an event, or suspended on a condition for committing a misdemeanor or felony intended to harm a specific individual, or an unspecified individual present, or encountered.
Based on the Jordanian Penal Code number (16) for the year (1960) – Articles number (326, 327), each individual who intentionally kills a person is punishable with twenty years of hard labor, and with life imprisonment if the murder is committed in any of the following cases:
As a preparation for a misdemeanor, or to facilitate, or execute it.
To facilitate the escape of the instigators of a misdemeanor, or its performers, or participants, or to prevent them from being punished.
If the intentional murder is committed on an officer during his duty, or due to his official acts.
If the intentional murder involves more than one person.
If the intentional murder is associated with the torture of the victim before killing him.
And based on the Jordanian Penal Code number (16) for the year (1960) – Article number (328), the death penalty is imposed on anyone who kills a person intentionally, in any of the following cases:
If the murder is committed with premeditation.
If committed as a preparation, or to facilitate, or execute a felony.
If committed to facilitate the escape of felony instigators, performers, or participants, or to prevent them from being punished.
If the victim is a blood relative of the killer.
Attempted murder, where it involves the perpetrator engaging in behavior or activity that goes beyond merely preparing to commit the desired murder, such that the perpetrator intends to kill the victim and end their life, undertakes all necessary behaviors and procedures, and prepares the circumstances that lead to the criminal outcome of this crime, although the result does not occur due to external factors preventing its realization.
2- Elements of the crime
Through Article (68) of the Jordanian Penal Code, it is apparent that an attempt in general is only realized by the fulfillment of three essential elements, which are:
– The perpetrator must have started executing an apparent act leading to the commission of a felony or misdemeanor.
– Criminal intent must be present in the perpetrator.
– The perpetrator does not complete the necessary acts to achieve the crime due to reasons beyond their control.
The Jordanian Court of Cassation, in its criminal capacity, regarding the elements of attempted murder in its ruling number 238 for the year 2004 issued on 1/4/2004, stated that (….. whereas the accused's stabbing of the victim in areas we refer to constitutes the material element of the crime of attempted murder, and whereas proving the perpetrator's intent to take a life – which is the required criminal intent in murder and attempted murder – is established by inference and indications, the manner of committing the act, the tools used, the location of the injury, and its severity ……. and whereas the stabbing was in dangerous and deadly areas of the victim's body, which confirms the intent to kill, however, the result, which is the taking of life, did not occur for reasons beyond the accused's control, which included medical intervention and surgical action, hence the elements of the crime of attempted murder, both the material element and the specific intent, were present with the accused).
From the foregoing, it is clear to us the elements of the crime of attempted murder, which consist of the material element, the criminal intent, and the incomplete commission of the crime for reasons not attributable to the perpetrator.
