Prosecutors asked a Warsaw court to sentence 22-year-old to fifteen years in prison

From: NPE
Prosecutors asked a Warsaw court to sentence 22-year-old Tomasz K. to fifteen years in prison for the attempted murder of a taxi driver in Nowy Dwor Mazowiecki last June. His defence requested a lighter sentence on grounds of diminished responsibility.

The incident occurred when Tomasz K. completed a three-day drinking binge penniless outside a club in Nowy Dwor. He called the taxi with no intention of paying for the trip, but claimed he intended to settle the matter amicably.

But in a darkened area near Czosnow he wrapped a steel wire around the driver’s neck and began to throttle him. The driver had a small pen-knife attached to his keyring and succeeded in cutting the wire, at which point his attacker fled.

Tomasz K.’s defence argued that, “The accused acted in an irrational and unpremeditated fashion.” They also argued that his psychiatric problems meant he was emotionally unstable, lacked empathy and was liable to react violently in threatening situations.

However, the experts called by the court pointed out that, “In this situation there was no threat. His act bears all the hallmarks of a premeditated crime.”