This is in relation to German law which, according to the German Association of Lawyers, the Nazis decided that a murderer was someone who killed "treacherously" or "sneakily" - "heimtueckisch" is the word in the law and it remains there today."The Nazi law favoured - and still favours - the strong who murder the weak, Koenig argues."
Dr Stefan Koenig, a Berlin defence lawyer who chairs the Association of Lawyers' penal committee, says the Nazis defined murder in the light of their belief that some people were inherently weak-minded. It was about defining a murderer as someone treacherous rather than looking at the circumstances of each individual crime.
East Germany had a different law, closer to the idea in the United States, UK and many other countries, that murder requires an intention to kill or cause serious injury. But with the unification of Germany in 1990, the law of West Germany became the law of the land.
"In the penal code concerning murder, somebody is guilty of murder but not manslaughter if he abuses the victim's defencelessness, abusing the fact that the victim is not aware of any attack," he says.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26047614
Text from Laci's post,
ReplyDelete"East Germany had a different law, closer to the idea in the United States, UK and many other countries, that murder requires an intention to kill or cause serious injury."
Text from the article,
"East Germany had a different law, closer to the idea in the UK and many other countries, that murder was about an intention to kill or cause serious injury."
Interesting how it seems to be a direct copy and paste except for the "United States" thrown in. So which law are you contending is worse? The one which they followed while under communist control, which is seemingly similar to law in the UK? Or the law which apparently was inherited from the Nazi's?
"Meiwes was sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter.
Again there was uproar, with much arguing of the fine points by lawyers, and a retrial was ordered. The second court decided that it was, indeed, murder."
And at least to my knowledge, there seems to be a vast departure from US law at least, that last I heard, after someone is tried and convicted, and sentenced for a crime, the prosecution doesn't get a do-over so you can be charged for a worse offence. Perhaps this is one of those old Nazi laws that don't apply here.
As for their legal definition of murder and manslaughter, if it truly originated during the Nazi administration, then their failing to change it has been one they had the option to change for quite a few years.
Laci, I'm pleased that I don't know the inner workings of your mind. How about you make your point.
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