Verdict due in trial of German nurse accused of killing patients
15 May 2023 11:19am
picture for illustrative purposes - FILEPIC
In previous appearances at the Munich I Regional Court, the accused admitted the offences, claiming that it was not his intention that someone should die.
In his defence, he said he had always drunk a lot of alcohol before his shifts and would sleep it off at work. Therefore, he sedated patients with excessive doses of drugs so they would not disturb him.
"I made a big mistake," the accused said at the beginning of the trial in January.
According to the indictment, the man injected the patients with sedatives, adrenalin or blood thinners in a recovery ward, an intermediate ward between the intensive care unit and the normal ward.
Two 80- and 89-year-old patients died in 2020 at the Munich hospital he worked at. The prosecution also charged him with six counts of attempted murder.
The prosecution demands life imprisonment, subsequent preventive detention for the accused, and a finding of special severity of guilt.
A person sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany can often apply for parole after serving 15 years, but the extra sanction by the court would effectively make that impossible.
The defence is arguing for the accused to be placed in a rehabilitation clinic - BERNAMA
