46-year-old Navinkumar Patel, was sentenced to probation in Kansas, US for trying to kill his wife with a pocketknife.
He has been spared jail after his attorney argued that sending him to prison could cause the man's family to be ostracised as part of their Hindu culture.
According to a report in the local newspaper, The Lawrence Journal World, Navinkumar Patel who owns a motel in Lawrence, stabbed his wife in the abdomen in June 2015.
Patel's wife was having a bowl of cereal in the motel on June 24, 2015, when her husband began yelling that she was fat and he was going to kill her, police said.
The wife retreated to an office area, where Patel stabbed her twice in the abdomen before she broke away and ran for help.
Patel pleaded no contest to felony charges of attempted second-degree murder and criminal threat in March.
His lawyer, John Kerns, told the judge that in the "Hindu culture" of Patel's family, his wife and children would suffer if he were sentenced to prison.
Douglas County District Judge Robert Fairchild said the cultural considerations weighed into his sentencing decision for Navinkumar Patel.
"The cultural part of it is very significant in this case," he said, noting that he did not want a prison sentence for Patel to further harm his family.
He sentenced Patel to probation but will announce the terms only next month.
Bipolar Disorder
A doctor testified in the court this week that Patel suffers from bipolar disorder, which was made worse by his alcohol addiction, the Lawrence Journal-World reported
If Patel stops drinking and continues to take his medication, he is at a low risk for a repeat offence, Dr Bradley Grinage said.
Patel’s wife turned up in his support in Court
More than a dozen of Patel's family members, including his wife who was stabbed, showed up in court to support him. Many wrote letters to Fairchild, asking him to sentence Patel to probation.
Fairchild ordered that Patel remain in jail until a proper plan is established to reduce the risk of a repeat offence.
The judge plans to announce terms of probation at a hearing on September 8.
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