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Skriven 2005-04-13 16:24:27 av Roy Witt (1:10/22)
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Ärende: German Cannibalism
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Note: Felten and crew claim that the US is weird!

Prosecutors Launch Rival Appeals

Wed Apr 13,11:59 AM ET   World - Reuters

By Sabine Siebold

KARLSRUHE, Germany (Reuters) - A German cannibal and prosecutors
launched rival appeals at Germany's top criminal court on Wednesday
against his manslaughter conviction for killing and eating a willing
victim.

Armin Meiwes was sentenced to eight and a half years in January 2004
after a gory case that both fascinated and repulsed Germany and the
world.

Meiwes admitted to killing a Berlin computer specialist, Bernd-Juergen
B, he met via the Internet, but was spared a murder verdict as the
victim had asked to be eaten in a startling case of sexual fetishism.

Meiwes recorded the deed on video tape and shocked the court with his
matter-of-fact account of how he severed the man's penis at the latter's
request, and how they both tried to eat it, first raw and then fried in
a saucepan.

Prosecutors believe the initial ruling and sentence were inadequate and
said they wanted judges to convict Meiwes of murder as he had killed his
victim to satisfy perverted desires.

"For the accused, it was only about fulfilling his fetish for human
flesh," state prosecutor Lothar Senge told Germany's Federal Court of
Justice.

"He will kill again if he gets the chance," he said.

Meiwes' lawyer Harald Ermel instead urged a conviction on the lesser
charge of "killing on request," a form of illegal euthanasia that
carries a maximum five year sentence.

Both Meiwes and prosecutors want the case sent back to a lower court.

The Federal Criminal Court will give its verdict on April 22. If it does
refer the case back, it would likely indicate whether the initial ruling
was too lenient or too harsh.

Ermel told the court that Meiwes, who was not present, was intelligent
and would not commit the same mistake again.

"You can assume that he has learned," he said.

He added that Meiwes' sole motive was to carry out the wishes of his
victim, rather than due to other "base motives."

"Meiwes was the man who satisfied desires. He was always the one who did
what the others wanted," he said.

The victim had ended his life with a "beautiful death" according to his
wishes, Ermel said.

"Mr B. took part in his own killing and was the driving force of the
whole thing," Ermel said.

A German filmmaker announced plans last year to make a movie about the
German cannibal. With the working title "Your Heart in my Brain," it has
already received funding from a regional film foundation.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050413/wl_nm/crime_g
ermany_cannibal_dc


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