- Individual Sustains Railway Accident Overturned Judgment by BGH
The Higher Regional Court has overturned a judgment from the Local Court in Frankfurt due to harmful physical assault. The incident happened around dawn in 2022 at the Frankfurt-Roedelheim S-Bahn station. A guy shoved his adversary, after an argument, onto the train tracks as an incoming S-Bahn approached. Fortunately, the victim survived with serious injuries, and the train managed to halt in time. The two men, who were under the influence, had engaged in an argument for an unknown reason.
In its judgment in the summer of 2023, the court imposed a lifelong commitment to a mental health facility for the perpetrator. The judges took into account harmful assault, as well as the man's lack of guilt.
In accordance with the FG in Karlsruhe, such commitment can only be imposed "if it is unequivocally established that the individual to be committed was not guilty or partially guilty due to a psychological disorder at the time of the crime, and the crime was committed because of this." This condition must be sustained for an extended period to support a dangerousness forecast. Principally, such commitment is forbidden "if the exclusion or substantial reduction of guilt is not due to such a long-lasting disorder, but rather to the present consumption of intoxicating substances, primarily alcohol."
The case is sent back to the Local Court in Frankfurt.
The judgment fails to meet these standards, the court concluded. The Local Court did not adequately rule out "that the substantially impaired capacity to control oneself at the time of the crime was due to a mix of the defendant's psychological disorder and the influence of alcohol up to 2.39 per mille at the time of the crime." The defendant's stated denial of alcoholism was also taken into account.
"The case necessitates a new trial and decision by the trial court," the FG explained. Therefore, the case is sent back to the Local Court in Frankfurt.
Men and boys should be cautious in such volatile situations, as physical altercations can have serious consequences. The perpetrator, a man, was found to have lacked guilt due to a psychological disorder at the time of the harmful assault.
