Germany jails Kosovan for life for U.S. airmen murder

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Germany jails Kosovan for life for U.S. airmen murder

FRANKFURT | Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:19am EST

(Reuters) - A German court found a Kosovo-Albanian man guilty on Friday of killing two U.S. airmen in a gun attack at Frankfurt airport in March 2011 and wounding two others, sentencing him to life in prison.

Arid Uka, a 22-year-old who was raised in Germany, has confessed to the attack and said he acted after seeing a video apparently showing U.S. soldiers raping Muslim women.

Judge Thomas Sagebiel, reading the sentence out to the court in Frankfurt, cited aggravating circumstances, which is likely to prevent Uka from being released early after serving 15 years.

(Reporting by Jonathan Gould; Writing by Stephen Brown)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/10/us-germany-usa-verdict-idUSTRE8190VF20120210

[DUIC]

1. I was not aware that this event took place at all

It's amazing how little news one receives for events outside of the US.

[tabatha]

2. It was in the news - I remember it.

[Lasher]

3. He killed two people and he might get out in 15 years. That's not justice.

He should at least be doing concurrent time for two murders.

[xocet]

4. Please get back to me when Bush, Cheney et al are sentenced to even a fraction of that...

At that point, there will be a minimal justification for "Amis" to judge the German legal system.

[friendly_iconoclast]

5. Ahem....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Peiper

[xocet]

6. Na und? Das ist doch vorbei. (So what? That is the past.)

Actually, I will amplify my comment:

You are apparently equating modern Germany with Nazi Germany. Modern Germany is not Nazi Germany.

Moreover, if you are in the USA, you are speaking from the same country that has (within the last decade) executed people in spite of the near-certainty that those people actually did not commit the crimes of which they were convicted and for which they were sentenced to death.

That, too, is the past, and, maybe, the justice system in the USA has improved in the last year. However, there does not seem to be evidence of that.

My original reply simply points out that the person (to whom the reply is directed) is a hypocrite for judging the German justice system when the USA's justice system needs to be fixed itself.

That should not be difficult to understand.

[reorg]

7. wrong

Citing "aggravating circumstances" in a murder sentence is not "likely" to prevent his release after 15 years as the article falsely states, it unequivocally rules out his release before 18 years have passed. Even at this point, he will only be released on probation IF a court decides that he is no longer considered a danger to the public, or rather to US soldiers who may still be roaming the German landscape on their way to some or other theater of war. Time actually served for a life sentence in Germany is usually more than 20 years.

As to "concurrent" or "consecutive" sentences, there is no such thing in Germany. He received the harshest punishment possible under German law

[Lasher]

8. I didn't say there was any such thing as concurrent sentences in German law.

I say there should be. He murdered twice. He committed at least two crimes and should be judged for them both.

And I beg your pardon, but I said he might get out in 15 years. The article says this is unlikely but it does not go so far as to say that he won't. And therefore, according to the article, he still might get out in 15 years, just as I supposed.

You say for certain, but without qualification, that he will remain confined for at least 18 years. That would still be insufficient IMO, but you might improve your credibility if you were to furnish a link to a credible source that supports your assertion.

Link or slink.

[stockholmer]

9. "link or slink" (I like that) not taking sides btw, I am Swedish afterall, LOLOLOL

[Lasher]

10. Why thank you but I cannot take credit for having coined the phrase.

I wouldn't want to give anybody an excuse to call me a hypocrite.

[stockholmer]

11. if hypocrite is the worst I get called somedays (and I truly strive to not be one, btw), then it was

a good day

[reorg]

12. He was judged for all four shootings

- it is called a cumulative sentence (Gesamtstrafe). Since it is not physically possible for someone to serve more than one life sentence, this practice does appear to make sense to me.

Life without parole is unconstitutional in Germany, so at some point there must be an opportunity to appeal for early release, even for those sentenced to life in prison. According to StGB 57a, early release will be granted by a court to those serving a life sentence, provided three conditions are met

1. the convict has served 15 years
2. there were NO aggravating circumstances (besondere Schwere der Schuld)
3. the person to be released is not considered dangerous to the public

http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stgb/__57a.html

If condition no 2 is not met, the convict can still make an appeal and the court will then decide, based on the convict's behavior in prison, a psychiatric evaluation, a hearing and the aggravating circumstances associated with the crime how much longer the convict will have to serve. The minimum for that second time period after 15 years is three years, but often it is longer, sometimes much longer. It is not at all uncommon for someone convicted of multipe murders to stay in prison for 30, 40 years, time and again make an appeal only to be rejected because they are still considered to be anti-social and dangerous. Here is one case, born in 1940, imprisoned in 1965, still in prison - despite a court decision in 1993 that 38 years should be enough: http://lexetius.com/2011,6107

As to "credible sources" in English, since you probably are unable to figure out what German sources say, perhaps you will accept your own source, the Reuters article? Apparently the journo who wrote it found out that s/he goofed and made a correction:

"The judge had cited aggravating circumstances, meaning he will spend more than 15 years in jail. In Germany those sentenced to life are released after 15 years. The aggravating circumstances mean he will be in jail for a least 18 years."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/10/us-germany-usa-verdict-idUSTRE8190VF20120210

[Lasher]

14. So he might get out in 18 years. Might not. That's still too lenient.

The practice of concurrent life sentences, which we have in the US is perfectly rational. Judges and juries pass such multiple sentences in part because parole boards often release such prisoners early, contrary to the intention of the court. If this occurs, the criminals cannot be released because they then start serving a second 'life' sentence.

You say he was judged for all four shootings. He was sentenced, however, as though he had committed only one crime, was he not? This makes less sense to me than cumulative sentencing. He committed four crimes. He should be punished for each of them if he lives long enough.

Germany has her own laws, of course, as is her right. I believe as before that the sentence in this case was too lenient. German law prohibits a more severe sentence, as you have pointed out. Then I say relevant German law is unjust.

Thank you for the quality response. Such a thing has been rare lately.

[reorg]

13. "he acted after seeing a video apparently showing U.S. soldiers raping Muslim women"

Sounds like the temporary insanity defense used in "Anatomy of a Murder" by Otto Preminger which I watched just recently after Ben Gazzara died.

In this film, which was based on a real case, a cold-blooded murderer gets off by claiming he had an "irresistable impulse" to kill the presumed rapist of his wife. Like in the movie, the accused Arid Uka claims he doesn't remember much of what happened on the day of the murders, except that he was enraged and had just watched this movie scene on Youtube.

The German press have widely reported that the accused had taken the movie for real, as a documentary, suggesting what a stupid fool he must be. Most of the reports left out the name of the movie, though, only one, the Tageszeitung, said it was a scene from "Redacted" by Brian De Palma. Interestingly enough, this film is also based on a real event, the gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl by U.S. troops on March 12, 2006.