Seven alleged hitmen were shot dead by security forces in a separate incident in Morelos.

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Early on Monday, police and suspected hitmen exchanged fire near Temixco, close to the city of Cuernavaca.

BBC: Mexico police chief killed as Morelos violence flares

Mr Hutomo was given 15 years, a fraction of the maximum possible life sentence, for paying two hitmen to gun down the judge.

ECONOMIST: Did the punishment fit the crime?

Taxi driver Zola Tongo has already claimed in a plea bargain that Mr Dewani offered him cash to arrange for two hitmen to ambush his vehicle.

BBC: Dewani honeymoon murder: suspect has brain surgery

The case of Shrien Dewani, a British man accused of hiring hitmen to kill his wife on their South African honeymoon, cast the country's criminal justice system in an unflattering light.

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Dewani is accused of hiring a crew of hitmen to kill his wife, Anni Dewani, 28, during a taxi ride in Cape Town, South Africa, while they were on honeymoon in 2010.

CNN: UK court halts extradition of honeymoon killing suspect

Major Peter Mead said it was difficult to imagine how it could have been bettered but he did concede that professional hitmen usually fired more than one shot to make sure of a kill.

BBC: Dando defence concludes case