New York Television Executive Gets 25 Years for Beheading Wife

New York Television Executive Gets 25 Years for Beheading Wife

Published March 09, 2011 | Associated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A former upstate New York television executive has been sentenced to 25 years to life for beheading his wife.

Muzzammil Hassan expressed deep regret as he was given the maximum sentence in Erie County court in Buffalo on Wednesday morning.

A jury spent just one hour deliberating before convicting him of second-degree murder last month in the 2009 death Aasiya Hassan.

Muzzammil Hassan had tried to convince jurors the death was justified, claiming he'd been abused by his wife and was afraid of her.

But prosecutors said Hassan was acting out of his determination to control his wife after she filed for divorce.

Together, the Hassans started the Muslim-oriented Bridges TV network as a way to counter negative media images of Muslims after 9/11 and build cultural understanding.