American Woman Jailed In Dubai For Killing Husband
DUBAI, Feb 14 (News Agencies) - A court in the Gulf emirate of Dubai has sentenced an American woman to seven years in prison for killing her husband, a U.S. academic, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
Gulf News said Julie Jackman, 31, who had originally been charged with premeditated murder, was convicted of the lesser charge of intentional assault leading to death, which carries a maximum seven-year sentence.
Defense lawyer Samir Jaafar said he would appeal the verdict but expressed relief that Jackman had not been found guilty of premeditated murder, which carries the death sentence in the United Arab Emirates.
Professor James Jackman, 62, suffered a single stab wound in the back on September 6th while taking a shower and died of blood loss shortly after his arrival in hospital.
The victim rushed out of the bathroom and tried to use the phone to call for help but his wife, who had been receiving treatment for depression, had cut the telephone wire with the knife.
But she then went to find help and the court took that into consideration.
Julie Jackman was declared mentally fit by a court-appointed team of psychiatrists after a two-week hospital evaluation before facing trial.
Professor Jackman had been assistant dean of the College of Business Sciences and acting administrator for Zayed University's Dubai campus since December 1999.
Before his move to the emirate, Jackman worked for 20 years at Oklahoma State University as an associate professor of business law in the College of Business Administration.
Friends of the couple have said she had wanted to return to the United States where her two children from a previous marriage live, an issue that caused frequent arguments with her second husband.
