Trial against Trier driver of amok must be largely reopened

Trial against Trier driver of amok must be largely reopened

The court also found that he was particularly guilty and ordered W. to be placed in a psychiatric ward. It considered it proven that he had indiscriminately run over passers-by in Trier city center on 1 December 2020. He had intended to kill or injure many people. Five people were killed directly in the attack in the pedestrian zone, another victim died around eleven months later as a result.

The BGH did not object to the court's reconstruction of the course of events. However, the regional court had made errors in assessing the defendant's culpability. According to a psychiatric report, W. suffers from a delusional disorder and paranoid schizophrenia.

The judges in Trier assumed that his culpability was significantly reduced by the illness, but not eliminated. The regional court must now deal with the case again.

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1. The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe ruled that the trial against the Trier driver, who ran amok and caused a murder verdict, must largely become a new process due to legal errors made by the regional court.
2. From the initial trial, it was found that the driver had intentionally run over several people in Trier city center, resulting in several deaths and injuries.
3. The regional court had assessed the driver's culpability in the murder verdict, but the Federal Court of Justice found largely incorrect assessments, causing the trial to be reopened.
4. The Federal Court of Justice considered that the driver, diagnosed with delusional disorder and paranoid schizophrenia by a psychiatrist, had reduced culpability due to his illness, but not eliminated.
5. The original sentencing for prison time and a psychiatric ward placement will now be re-evaluated in a new trial, from which it must be determined if the driver's crimes - from the murder verdict to the prison sentence - warrant the same or modified penalties.
6. In the initial trial, the driver was found guilty of indiscriminately running over passers-by, aiming to kill or injure many people in Trier city center, leading to several deaths and one fatality from injuries.
7. The court's proceeding acknowledged the attack and the defendant's dangerous actions, but the Federal Court of Justice determined that certain elements of the trial had to be rolled up and reassessed in order to provide a fair and accurate ruling, as the errors made were substantial enough to warrant a re-trial.
8. The Federal Court of Justice, in its decision, emphasized the importance of assessing criminals' culpability correctly to ensure a fair and just application of justice, which was not upheld in the original trial against the driver that ran amok in Trier city center.

Source: www.stern.de