Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Strasbourg, Karlsruhe and back: A murder case makes its way through the courts. Ten years after her conviction, the alleged perpetrator is now at large – did a court make a mistake?
We know that the criminal justice system is not famous for its culture of errors, on the contrary. Instead of admitting that they have made a mistake in a judgment, courts often go to great lengths to dispel any doubts about the correctness of their work. But now the time had come. The Frankfurt Higher Regional Court (OLG) admitted – of course without using the word error – that the judiciary made a mistake. It has released a 59-year-old woman from prison in Frankfurt’s Preungesheim district who was sentenced to life in prison by the Darmstadt regional court in 2014 for the murder of her husband. There will be a reopening – the case will be reopened. Outcome: Uncertain.