Arizona Man Gets 34 Years in Daughter's 'Honor Killing'

An Iraqi immigrant who deliberately ran over and killed his 20-year-old daughter in an Arizona parking lot wept yesterday as a judge sentenced him to more than 34 years in prison. Faleh Hassan Al-Maleki thought his daughter, Noor, was too Westernized and wanted to punish her for not abiding by his cultural values, reports the Arizona Republic. "I wish I was dead and not her," he said. "I'm sorry. I'm very sorry." He also struck and injured a family friend.

The public defender contended that his health problems, the torture he faced while living in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, and a lack of criminal history were mitigating factors, but prosecutors countered with a gut-wrenching PowerPoint that juxtaposed pictures of a smiling Noor with scenes from the hit-and-run. "This does not have to do with honor," said the judge. "This has to do with a man, his narcissism, his mean-spiritedness, his inability to forgive. He was driven to kill his daughter because it suited his purpose." (More honor killings stories.)