Kansas motel owner gets probation for trying to kill wife

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Hindu man was sentenced to probation in Kansas for trying to kill his wife with a pocketknife after his attorney argued sending him to prison could cause the man's family to be ostracized as part of their culture.

Douglas County District Judge Robert Fairchild on Thursday said the cultural considerations weighed into his sentencing decision for Navinkumar Patel.

The 46-year-old Shawnee man pleaded no contest in March to felony charges of attempted second-degree murder and criminal threat for the June 2015 attack on his wife at the Super 8 Motel in Lawrence, which he owns.

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.

Read more: http://hosted2.ap.org/KSMAN/b6381e64325e4486a31510c04f946e09/Article_2016-08-26-US--Attempted%20Murder-Probation/id-9a0cc83a63864076868495a50b98c289