CNN - Rabin's killer convicted

Rabin's killer convicted, sentenced to life in prison

March 27, 1996
Web posted at: 7:15 a.m. EST (1215 GMT)

TEL AVIV, Israel (CNN) -- Yigal Amir was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for the murder of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

An Israeli court convicted Amir, 25, of premeditated murder, rejecting Amir's claim that he had meant only to paralyze Rabin. The three-judge panel also convicted Amir of aggravated assault for wounding Rabin's bodyguard, Yoram Rubin, during the November 4, 1995 attack.

The Assassination and Funeral of Yitzhak Rabin

"With premeditation and remarkable coolness, he decided that the death of the late prime minister was the only way to stop the peace process he opposed and he took this path to its very end," Judge Edmond Levy said as he announced Amir's sentence.

'Everything I did, I did for God'

Amir, a former law student and extremely religious Jew, showed little remorse throughout Wednesday's session. Dressed in a gray sweatshirt, Amir yawned occasionally, stared blankly at the courtroom audience or smiled to himself.

When asked to make his final statement, Amir stood and said, "Everything I did, I did for God, for the Torah of Israel, the people of Israel and the land of Israel."

Amir summed up the three-month court proceedings as a "show trial."

Judge Levy on several occasions tried to cut Amir short during the five-minute speech, prompting Amir to end his statement by looking directly at the judge and saying, "May God help you."

And as police escorted Amir out of the courtroom, he shouted, "The state of Israel is a monstrosity."

Amir receives mandatory life sentence

The court handed down the mandatory life sentence for the murder conviction and a six-year term for injuring the bodyguard.

The judges said the sentences are to be served consecutively, unanimously rejecting a defense request that the sentences run concurrently. Such a sentence would have made Amir eligible for a potential presidential pardon.

In Israel, a life prison term usually means a convicted felon serves between 16 and 25 years, with the sentence traditionally shortened by a presidential pardon. The death penalty is reserved for Nazi war criminals in Israel.

Amir will have 45 days to appeal to Israel's Supreme Court, Levy said. Defense attorney Shmuel Flishman said he would appeal.

Flishman had sought a manslaughter conviction, arguing that Amir was so obsessed with removing Rabin from office that he was not in full control when he shot the prime minister. Manslaughter carries a 20-year sentence.

Judge Levy rejected the claim. Citing a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation of the defendant, Levy said Amir was neither mentally ill nor emotionally disturbed.

The case appeared to be open and shut from the beginning: Amir was caught at the scene and immediately arrested after firing two bullets into Rabin and a third bullet into Rabin's bodyguard. Amir later confessed to shooting Rabin in hopes of stopping his peace process with the Palestinians.

On Wednesday, Leah Rabin, widow of the former prime minister, seemed unmoved by the verdict.

"I don't even have a feeling of vengeance," she said on Israel Radio.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Rabin's killer convicted, sentenced to life in prison

The Assassination and Funeral of Yitzhak Rabin

'Everything I did, I did for God'

Amir receives mandatory life sentence

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