In the so-called corn chopper trial, a farmer was sentenced to a year and a half in prison on probation for several acts of sabotage. The court found it proven that the 69-year-old had used heavy objects to attack other farmers’ agricultural equipment in the Neustadt/Aisch-Bad Windsheim district. However, the Nuremberg-Fürth regional court did not agree with the public prosecutor’s office, which had pleaded for attempted manslaughter and a prison sentence of several years without parole. She only found the man guilty of criminal damage and coercion.
The 69-year-old was initially charged at the district court. In the course of this hearing, the case was referred to the jury chamber after the farmer’s statements led to the possibility of attempted murder. In the subsequent proceedings at the district court, an expert found that the farmer had mild dementia, which could have contributed to his behavior in testifying at the district court. The 69-year-old did not comment on a possible motive for the acts of sabotage. His defense lawyers pleaded for acquittal. The judgment is not final.