Verdict - Manslaughter under the influence of drugs and alcohol: three and a half years in prison
A 43-year-old man from Bavaria killed a friend in a fight under the influence of drugs and alcohol - now the Rottweil District Court has handed down its verdict. It found the man guilty of premeditated intoxication. The court sentenced him on Thursday to a prison term of three years and six months.
According to Paragraph 323a of the German Criminal Code, premeditated or negligent intoxication is punishable if a crime is committed in such a state that the perpetrator cannot be held accountable for the crime. Therefore, he is not being punished for the crime committed in a drunken state, but for the intoxication that led to his lack of accountability.
The man is said to have stabbed a 44-year-old man in the neck with a knife during a fight on the first Christmas Day of the previous year. The victim died. The defendant was reportedly under the influence of Cannabis and alcohol during the commission of the crime. The incident occurred in a flat in Dornstetten, in the North Black Forest region. Investigations by the police revealed that the men were long-term acquaintances.
The prosecution had demanded a sentence of four years for the crime of premeditated intoxication, while the defense had pleaded for a three-year sentence for the same offense.
- The case of the 43-year-old man from Baden-Württemberg, who was found guilty of manslaughter under the influence of drugs and alcohol, has sparked a heated debate about the role of intoxication in criminal responsibility.
- The judgment in this high-profile case has set a precedent in Bavaria, as it is one of the first times that the concept of premeditated intoxication has been used to punish an individual.
- Although the defendant will serve a three-year and six-month imprisonment term, the court also deemed it necessary to highlight the dangers of drug and alcohol use, warning against their ruinous consequences on individuals and society.
- The incident, which took place in a flat in Dornstetten, has brought attention to the issue of substance abuse and its impact on criminal responsibility, sparking calls for more extensive drug education programs in schools.
- Cannabis, as well as alcohol, has been identified as the main substance involved in the case, which has raised concerns about the increasing prevalence of drug use and its impact on crime rates in Rottweil and beyond.
- The defense lawyer has argued for a more lenient sentence, stating that the defendant's intoxication was not intentional and that the man has since sought help for his substance abuse problem, expressing remorse for his actions.
