A woman captured beverage cans at a gas station pouring into them and threatened the employee with a stun gun. Since she suffered from acute psychosis, the 51-year-old is incapable of guilt.
The accused could leave the Giessen regional court without any further restrictions. Archive photo: Moselle
GIESSEN – “Just a slip-up” – defense attorney Alexander Velten has a hard time saying it. The lawyer is aware that this sounds as if his client’s act should be belittled. “What happened was definitely a criminal offense. But I’m currently assuming that such a situation will not happen again,” the lawyer explains. Velten can be brief in his plea because before him, prosecutor Benedikt Zdziarstek suggested that the application for placement in a psychiatric hospital should be rejected. The Ninth Large Criminal Chamber finally followed these statements in its judgment. The 51-year-old accused can therefore leave the regional court without further restrictions. In a state of acute, temporary psychosis, the woman had attacked a gas station in Marburger Strasse on Boxing Day 2019.
The woman from Giessen has suffered from anxiety since early childhood. More than 20 years ago, she turned to a doctor friend who – without further examination – regularly prescribed strong calming and anti-anxiety medication. After serious life changes – the sudden separation from her husband as well as deaths and illnesses in the family – the woman had increased the dose considerably and began to drink several liters of wine spritzer every day. After an aborted withdrawal – a few days before the crime – her condition deteriorated rapidly. According to the psychiatric expert’s diagnosis, the accused developed “severe anxiety-related adjustment disorder” which was exacerbated by social isolation, alcohol abuse and malnutrition. On the day of the crime, this manifested itself as a psychotic disorder with symptoms of schizophrenia. The state in which she was “can be seen very impressively on the surveillance video,” says chairman Dr. Klaus Bergmann in the reasons for the judgment. The woman had pocketed beverage cans worth around 42 euros, threatened the gas station employee twice with an electric baton and fled. The 51-year-old was later overpowered by a police special task force (SEK) in her apartment.
“When you committed the act, your ability to see things was lost, you were incapable of guilt,” said Bergmann directly to the woman. “That means you cannot be punished.” The three professional and two lay judges do not see the requirements for placement in a psychiatric hospital. “Several points led to a particular psychological burden for you,” said Bergmann. The Chamber assumes that a simple, everyday event would not have been enough to trigger it. From the – not previously convicted – office clerk, no further, significant criminal offenses are currently to be expected. Bergmann appeals “not to be taken lightly”. In the meantime, the woman from Giessen has taken medication, is cared for by a social worker and consults a psychiatrist. “But take care of therapy as soon as possible, you have to work on yourself,” said the chairman. The 51-year-old uses her last word again for an apology and emphasizes: “I gave myself the greatest punishment.”
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