A 50-year-old man from The Hague who killed a man with 17 stab wounds in 2020 will not be sentenced by the court. The Public Prosecution Service demanded six years in prison, but the judge ruled that the man acted out of emergency weather excess.
On April 17, just before midnight, the suspect cycled to work in a coffee shop. He declared earlier in court that an unknown man cycled next to him and started talking to him. He was then attacked by him and beaten several times.
According to the suspect, he did not get a chance to flee. “I took my knife because I thought I was going to die. I stabbed where I could, but he kept hitting,” he said. Officers found the victim bleeding on the street, he later died of his injuries. The 50-year-old suspect later said that he had acted in self-defense.
‘Anxious and panicked’
The Public Prosecution Service found that the man had defended himself with too heavy a substance and demanded six years in prison, but the court thought otherwise, writes. Broadcasting West.
The judges ruled that the man was in a “difficult position” because of the beating he received. According to the court, he was in a panic because he was afraid he would die. That is why there was an emergency weather excess. Therefore, he was still acquitted.
“The suspect was anxious, panicked and furious and that was of decisive importance in the circumstance that he went further than necessary in his defense,” the court said.
According to the judges, there was no question of severe weather: stabbing the victim was many times more serious than the blows he received.
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