An appeals court in the US state of Colorado has overruled the public prosecution's request to raise the original sentence of 28 years in prison to life term for Homaidan Al-Turki, the Saudi Ph.D. student who was convicted in 2006 in the US of abusing his housekeeper.
Al-Turki's sentence was reduced to eight years after his lawyers sent an appeal to the court to revise the sentence after discovering a legal error in the 28-year sentence passed by a judge at the Arapahoe County District Court. The then district attorney ruled that the judge presiding over the case was only allowed to issue a sentence between four and 12 years. Since the sentence was more than doubled, he permitted a second hearing.
Al-Turki's lawyers have presented documents and supporting letters requesting the case be dropped or the sentence reduced.
Al-Turki's spokesman Fahd Al-Nassar confirms that if the prosecution team's appeal is rejected, the defense team will be able to appeal for a further reduction of the eight years, of which Al-Turki had already served five and a half.
Al Turki's sentence was reduced to eight years on the basis of a letter the director of the Colorado jail sent to the court praising his positive attitude during imprisonment. The director of the jail also said that the cost of the medical treatment of Al-Turki is high and he should be sent home to receive medical care. Al-Nassar said Al-Turki's wife and five children are hoping for a positive outcome of the appeal and a reunion with Al-Turki after years of separation. The family has not seen him since they left the United States in 2004.
Sara Al-Khonaizan, Al-Turki's wife, was arrested along with her husband in 2004 for overstaying her visa and was released 12 days later when her family paid her bond upon condition of never returning to the US.
