NORTH CAROLINA
Elias Hanna Syriani
November 18, 2005
Elias Hanna Syriani faces execution in North Carolina Nov. 18 for the July 28, 1990 murder of his wife in Mecklenburg County. Syriani and his wife had recently separated. Witnesses at Syriana’s trial disagreed with each other regarding whether his marriage was a violent one.
The murder weapon, a screwdriver, was never found. Two witnesses testified that, while he was seeking treatment for wounds to his face and leg, Syriani claimed that his wife assaulted him the evening of the murder. A number of witnesses close to, or familiar with, Syriani and his family testified that he was an honest, hospitable, mild-mannered man who was head of a loving and happy family.
Trial counsel failed to present mitigating evidence of Syriani’s harsh upbringing in a poor and abusive household in Palestine and Jordan. When Syriani was 12 years old his village was annexed by Israel and his father was among the men held indefinitely in a camp. More than a year later his father returned, but was not the same. After his trial, a psychiatrist claimed that Syriani was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder at the time of the crime.
The defendant expressed his sorrow and remorse for the crime. He presented evidence at trial that he had been well-behaved in jail. He also suggested that he was under emotional and mental distress at the time of the crimes because he feared losing his wife and children. Syriani is now 67 years old.
Please write Gov. Michael Easley requested that Elias Hanna Syriani’s sentence be commuted to life in prison.
