Josef Fritzl, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Amstetten incest case, will be heard by a panel of three judges on Thursday. The background is the transfer of the 88-year-old from the measures to a regular prison.
This March marks fifteen years since Josef Fritzl was behind bars. He had locked his daughter in a basement dungeon of his house in Amstetten for 24 years, raped her countless times and fathered seven children with her. His lawyer, Astrid Wagner, now wants to get him out of prison. According to Wagner, her client “should be released and placed in a normal prison.”
A report by psychiatric expert Adelheid Kastner presented in December 2023 offers at least a first step in this regard. In the report she comes to the conclusion that Josef F. – he has since changed his name – is expected to no longer commit criminal offenses due to dementia. In addition, the elderly man was in a physically weak condition due to multiple falls.
Accommodation requirements no longer exist
According to previous court decisions, the law’s medical accommodation requirements are no longer met from a psychiatric perspective. The disease ensures that “acts predicted to have serious consequences will no longer occur.”
Based on this expertise, a three-judge panel of the Krems Regional Court will decide whether to conditionally release the 88-year-old from the implementation of the measures. If this is answered affirmatively, the three-member Senate will also decide on a general conditional dismissal, court spokesman Ferdinand Schuster announced on Tuesday.
A written decision will be made. A decision can be expected within “two to three weeks,” Schuster said. Fritzl’s hearing will take place at least on Thursday at the Krems Regional Court.
Source: Krone
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