[ad_1]
Unsplash
A former Otago student will be released from jail after a glass incident. File photo.
A prison sentence for a promising student who attacked people with a glass caused screams and tears in the public gallery of the court; now, Sammy Ayoun Soud will be released.
Soud was sentenced in Dunedin District Court to two years and six months in jail in December 2019 for his involvement in an act of alcohol violence. It was later reduced by five months on appeal.
“Sometimes you have to do the hard thing,” Judge Kevin Phillips told the then 22-year-old student with aspirations to enter medical school.
Fast forward a year and Soud was before the Board of Parole, with 13 months remaining on his sentence.
READ MORE:
* Student who corners three others at the Dunedin concert to stay behind bars
* Former teacher jailed for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl, keeps her name a secret
* Reduced sentence to man who cornered students in a bar
That decision signaled that Soud had completed a Drug Treatment Program.
In addition to a job offer, he also received support if he was released. He also planned to return to his studies next year.
The board accepted that Soud had a low risk of recidivism and was highly unlikely to repeat the crime that landed him in prison.
The board noted that the infringement occurred during a DJ set at the now-defunct bar 50 Gorillas on August 2, 2018.
John Kirk-Anderson / Stuff
Dunedin Courthouse
Soud had consumed a liter of vodka and some medication before going to the concert. He was intoxicated when a fight started there, which included pushing and shoving other punters.
The fight broke up and a fellow student asked him if he was “okay.”
Soud hit the man with a glass, hitting him on the temple, then threw the broken glass, hitting a second student in the face and a third on the chin.
The three people hit with glass were students at the University of Otago. All required medical treatment and were left with permanent scars and constant anxiety.
Soud, a first-time offender, couldn’t remember anything after the initial altercation.
The board was satisfied that Soud would not pose an undue risk to the community and ordered that he be paroled on December 21.
He remained subject, until his legal release date, to standard and special conditions, including not using alcohol or drugs, not associating with victims, and participating in counseling as directed.
