An Iraqi immigrant was sentenced Monday to 25 years to life in prison for his wife's fatal beating, which initially drew international condemnation when authorities believed it was a hate crime.
Kassim Alhimidi was sentenced in San Diego County Superior Court after yelling out to the courtroom audience that he is not guilty.
He entered the courtroom with his hands bound and yelled out, "I swear I'm not guilty," and then yelled in Arabic to a son who was in court.
Deputies quickly removed him from the courtroom temporarily. After being sentenced, he yelled out that he would prefer to be sentenced to death and donate his organs.
The 2012 killing of Shaima Alawadi occurred at the couple's home in the city of El Cajon, a suburb east of San Diego that is home to the second-largest Iraqi population in the United States.
The sentencing followed an emotional trial.
Alhimidi shook his head and wagged his finger as jurors delivered the guilty verdict. His oldest son shouted obscenities and proclaimed his father's innocence before several deputies wrestled him out of the courtroom.
Another son also shouted in his father's defense, while the victim's mother said in Arabic that Alhimidi deserved worse, according to an official court translator.
"In Iraq, normally if he kills her, he is supposed to be killed in the same way," Rehima Alhussanwi told reporters through the translator after Alhimidi's conviction in April.
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