Eligible for parole in 3 years, faces deportation afterwards.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Jurors have sentenced Shriya Patel to 20 years in prison for immolating her husband two years ago, taking almost two days to deliver the sentence that has brought this case to an end.
Although jurors were relatively quick in convicting Shriya Patel of “arson with intent to murder” and acquitting her of capital murder yesterday, they had a hard time deciding what her actual punishment ought to be. The jury deliberated from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Monday evening before breaking for the night. They returned this morning and started back up again at 9:00 AM, announcing the sentence late this afternoon for the Indian-origin woman who burned her husband to death in a bathtub two years ago.
Patel will be eligible for parole after serving three years. Upon her release from prison, whenever that may be, she will face deportation back to India.
Related Story: Shriya Patel found guilty of ‘arson causing death’
After court was adjourned today, the jury told local media that the decision was not an easy one to make, citing the language and cultural barriers that dominated the case, as well as the paucity of physical evidence. The jury apparently went back-and-forth regarding what sentence Patel should be given, but ultimately told reporters that they believe they arrived at a fair punishment for the 27 year-old widow.
Patel’s husband, Bimal, was burned badly in the incident that occurred on April 17, 2012, just one week after she came to join him in the US and roughly a year and a half after their marriage was arranged and finalized. Bimal, 29, died five months later in a local hospital, but questions linger as to what drove a woman with no prior criminal history to commit such a heinous crime.
The prosecution argued that Patel was vengeful against her husband because the marriage was arranged against her will, and never really loved him. The defense argued that Bimal Patel wanted to kill himself due to various personals and professional disappointments, and forced his wife to assist by immolating him in the bathtub of their Houston-area apartment. Before dismissing the jury for deliberation yesterday, the prosecution asked for justice while the defense team asked for a fair verdict.
Testimonies during the trial were emotional, with witnesses for the prosecution telling the jury of how selfless and caring a person Bimal Patel was. Two of his friends and former classmates at Texas Tech University, Rob Newman and Gabe Hogan, talked about how much of a friend he was to them.
“When we talked, it was always about the future,” said Newman to the jury, adding that Bimal Patel was one of the few people he could always call and count on for help and support, no matter what.
Hogan reiterated those sentiments, saying that “Bimal was the happiest, most positive person I’ve ever met. He didn’t have quit in him.”
Shriya Patel’s defense team only called on one witness: her brother, 23 year-old Mrugesh Patel, who was styled into the courtroom on a monitor facing the jury. His testimony was used to debunk the prosecution’s assertions that Patel was raised in an upper-class Indian home and resented her new husband for making her live in relative squalor. Mrugesh Patel said that their family was middle-class, and that they were raised under several hardships in Dubai. He also said that his sister had never been in any sort of legal trouble.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com
2 Comments
Best & brightest US economy can’t do without. Now US taxpayers have to keep this scum alive for 3 years.
Kon