- Father killed: four and a half years in prison - verdict final
Because he killed his father, a man from Neustadt an der Weinstraße has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for manslaughter. The Regional Court of Frankenthal found it proven that the 57-year-old first strangled his victim, approximately 30 years his senior, in the latter's apartment, and then nearly decapitated him with a kitchen knife. The chamber considered this a lesser offense of manslaughter, which carries a sentence of between one and ten years in prison.
Both the prosecution, which had demanded six years and two months imprisonment, and the defense, which advocated for four years and two months, argued for a sentence within this range. The defendant had confessed and had no prior convictions. Since both parties waived their right to appeal, the verdict is now final.
Despite the severe nature of his crimes, the 57-year-old man's case was not eligible for a trial by lethal injection due to the sentence imposed for manslaughter. Regardless, there have been ongoing debates in some jurisdictions about extending the death penalty to include such heinous crimes.
