JEDDAH: The General Court of Makkah sentenced a 24-year-old Saudi man to execution on Tuesday for killing his father and brother three years ago, Al-Watan newspaper reported yesterday.
The man was unemployed and was having continuous conflicts with his family, which ended up with him killing his father.
According to the report, the son killed his father after an argument about going to Friday prayer, which the father believed would help his son improve his behavior and get a job.
The argument ended with the youth stabbing his father with a kitchen knife. He also fatally wounded his brother who rushed in to help their father.
The man was originally sentenced to three years in prison and flogging on account of his psychological condition. This sentence was appealed, resulting in an increase to five years in prison and flogging. But after observations of the man’s behavior in prison, his case was reviewed by the Makkah General Court, which then sentenced him to death.
Last-minute pardon
In Taif, meanwhile, a Saudi man who was sentenced to death for murder was pardoned in the last minute by his victim’s mother.
The man, named Hisham, was forgiven just before his execution at a crowded execution square in Taif. The victim’s mother came forward in the last minute and announced putting her hand on Hisham’s head that she had forgiven him.
The pardon was achieved through efforts by the Reconciliation Committee.
The Reconciliation Committee is a nation-wide organization with branches across the Kingdom. The committee, which has a small three-meter by four-meter office in Taif, worked tirelessly to convince the mother to forgive the killer.
The committee has successfully secured pardons for a number of death row prisoners and helped settle lengthy inter-family and tribal disputes through persistent efforts.
