Man killed: Acquaintance sentenced to 10 years in prison
A man from Bad Kötzting was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment with preventive detention for the killing of a 50-year-old friend at Regensburg District Court on Wednesday. The court found him guilty of assault resulting in death.
The public prosecutor's office had pleaded for the 26-year-old to be convicted of murder and demanded a life sentence with preventive detention. According to the prosecution, the man, who had several previous convictions, killed his acquaintance in order to return to prison for a longer period of time.
The co-plaintiff had seen a case of manslaughter. The man's defense lawyer assumed it was a case of bodily harm resulting in death. She left the sentence to the discretion of the court. If there was a murder conviction, she demanded placement in a psychiatric ward instead of preventive detention.
In February, the accused had informed the police in Bad Kötzting (district of Cham) that he had killed an acquaintance the previous evening. Officers found the body of the 50-year-old.
The court's decision to sentence the man to 10 years in prison for the murder of his friend raises questions about how criminal processes in OBERPFALZ district address such crimes and their consequences. Despite the public prosecutor's call for a life sentence, the man's history of prior convictions and potential mental health issues were considered during the judgment proceedings.
Source: www.dpa.com
