From: sanio@netmbx.netmbx.de (Erhard Sanio)
Subject: Re: Violence update 23.09.92
Organization: netmbx, Berlin, Germany
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 17:05:37 GMT



In article <1992Sep25.163905.26488@u.washington.edu> gregn@milton.u.washington.edu (Gregor Nitsche) writes:
>In article <3912@sapwdf.UUCP> sanio@sapwdf.UUCP (Dr. Erhard Sanio,,,,universe) writes:
>>In article <QCA724I@math.fu-berlin.de> dww@inf.fu-berlin.de writes:
>>..
>>>Potsdam: Four youths were sentenced to between four and six years in
>>>prison for an incident last year in which 2 African refugees (from
>>>Nigeria, I believe) were pushed off a balcony. Both men were critically
>>>wounded from their fall, but survived to testify against the youths.
>>>The youths were only convicted for endangerment (Noetigung) and not
>>>for attempted murder.

>>Beg your pardon, Debora, but to the best of my knowledge, the above is not
>>correct. The persons in question were accused for attempted manslaughter
>>(Totschlag) and sentenced for, as well. A 6 year sentence for endangerment
>>(more exactly, Noetigung is illegal forceful coercion, IMHO) is impossible,
>>as the maximum sentence for it is five years.

>Beg your pardon, Erhard, but at least to my understanding (I'm not a lawyer,
>though!) Totschlag translates roughly to second-degree murder, not to man-
>slaughter.  Manslaughter is the equivalent of "fahrlaessige Toetung".

This is interesting. My dictionary (the big Pons) refers to Totschlag as
manslaughter. I doubt that 'fahrlaessige Toetung' may match the meaning,
as it means non-deliberate killing caused by carelessness. 
By the way, I am not a lawyer, too, but had several classes in law, but in
German, not international law.
German law knows three degrees of killing:

Koerperverletzung mit Todesfolge - injury causing death, denoting violent
            attack without the intention to kill.
Totschlag - the crime in question, meaning intentional killing which
            is not "Mord" - murder. The distinction is derived from
            that of murder below. Typically, "Totschlag" is done in
            utter wrath, fear, drunkenness etc.
Mord      - murder meaning intentional killing done for revenge, as
            a sexual murder, to get money, to cover a crime or for
            other particularly contemptive motives. 

Deborah asked me by email (which I couldn't respond to as I was leaving
home) to specify source and contents of my differing info (she got hers
from the Tagesspiegel). Well, my original source were TV News, then the
Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which held the following information:

The main defendant (21 years old) was tried for attempted .. let's say
homicide, 2nd degree murder or so for having pushed the black people
down the balkony. The others were tried for trespass (breach into the
flat, "Hausfriedensbruch"), rioting (breach of peace, "Landfriedensbruch"),
and henchmenship ("Beihilfe") to the attempted killings.
Sentences were 6 1/2 years against the main defendant and 4 1/2 against the
others.

My comments about the sentence:
As I understood, the defendants haven't been accused before. In that case,
the sentence is not low at all. Obviously, the court refused to sentence
the attackers as youngsters but used adult penal law. Sentences in that
range are common as a first sentence against the defendants only when the
court considers "high criminal energy" - there are even completed homicide
cases where the defendant got a lower sentence. Get me right - I appreciate
that a court obviously recognizes the severity of the ultra-right-wing 
violence and I hope that to continue.

>Gregor Nitsche


regards, es