The father of an American teacher killed in Qatar has said he supports the death penalty as a punishment for his daughter’s accused killer.

The judge hearing the case said late last month that he would like to hear the wishes of Jennifer Brown’s family before proceeding with the trial of a Kenyan security guard charged with her murder.

The official reiterated that request during a court hearing yesterday.

Specifically, the judge has asked that the family officially name the woman’s “inheritors” and submit in writing whether they would like financial compensation, retribution or the killer to be pardoned – which would likely mean a jail sentence, rather than the death penalty.

Brown, 40, was killed in her home in November 2012, two months after moving to Qatar to work at the English Modern School in Al Wakrah.

A security guard working in Brown’s Al Sadd building was arrested in connection with her death.

Taking life

Speaking to Doha News, relatives of Jennifer Brown said in early January that they were delayed in filing the requested paperwork because their previous attorney quit on short notice.

When reached by phone in his home in Pennsylvania last night, the woman’s father said he would like to see his daughter’s killer sentenced to death.

“He didn’t only take the life of my little girl. He took the life of me and my wife as well,” Robert Brown told Doha News.

However, it is unclear whether his wish will be communicated to the Qatar judge.

Robert Brown said he recently signed off on a form given to him by Jennifer Brown’s sister, Trisha Snisky. She previously told Doha News that she would like the killer’s life to be spared:

“We are Catholics. We don’t believe in the death penalty. Its cruelty is unChristian and we don’t want to be like him (the defendant). But we want to see him go to prison. He needs to spend time in prison for what he did.”

Robert Brown said he doesn’t know what the form said and that he signed it simply to get it out of the way, hopefully bringing the legal proceedings toward a conclusion more than two years after Brown’s death.

Snisky could not immediately be reached for comment.

While the death penalty is still being handed out by courts in Qatar, the sentence is not believed to have been carried out in more than a decade.

Previous testimony

The discussions about the family’s sentencing wishes appear to come as the court gets ready to issue a verdict in the case.

The accused man reportedly confessed to the crime shortly after being arrested, a claim corroborated by an investigator during a hearing in early December.

The police officer said the defendant told authorities where he had hidden the murder weapon, a knife that investigators found wrapped in newspaper on the roof of Brown’s building.

Separately, a psychiatrist testified in late December that following an examination, she found the defendant to be mentally sound and accountable for his actions.

The next hearing is scheduled for March 8. The defense lawyer has previously indicated that he does not plan to call further witnesses and is ready to give his closing statement.

Thoughts?