Welcome to Germany, where attempted murder is apparently negotiable. A 29-year-old man stabbed a teacher six times in broad daylight, inflicting serious injuries, yet the Stuttgart court decided he didn't commit attempted murder. Why? Because he stopped before the seventh stab. That, apparently, counts as a "withdrawal."
Yes, you read that correctly. Six stabs, some to the back, some to the thigh, and because the victim screamed, the perpetrator paused β and the law waved him off with a shrug. According to German legal tradition, stopping voluntarily before the final blow can magically downgrade your crime from attempted murder to "bodily harm." Never mind that the victim spent three days in the hospital, is psychologically scarred, and now fears leaving her home. In the eyes of the court, she survived, so the law survived too.
This is the same logic applied in prior controversial cases: the idea of a "genuine withdrawal" is stretched so far it almost snaps. The law says the perpetrator must truly want to prevent the victim's death, perhaps by applying first aid or calling emergency services. Simply stopping mid-stab and fleeing? That's apparently enough. Welcome to jurisprudence by creative imagination.
It's almost tragicomic. Six stabs, and the court asks us to focus on the perpetrator's inner intent rather than the obvious: someone brutally attacked another human being on the street. Six stabs, two to the legs, four to the back β yet somehow, he's lucky number six, not seven, and thus dodges the "attempted murder" bullet.
Meanwhile, the victim endures lasting psychological trauma. She can't leave the house, her mobility is limited, her life has been turned upside down. And yet, in legal terms, she is an unfortunate inconvenience in the bureaucratic machinery that prizes technicalities over justice.
It is almost Kafkaesque. We are told to marvel at the precision of German law, the subtlety of intent, the moral calculus of voluntary withdrawal β all while someone walks away with six stabs under his belt and a prison sentence that feels like a polite nod rather than true accountability.
Perhaps the next time we read a court ruling, we should ask: how many stabs constitute attempted murder, and how many constitute a "minor misunderstanding"? The answer, apparently, is whatever number allows the law to feel clever without confronting reality.
Germany's courts have spoken. Six stabs, not seven. Justice is⦠flexible. For the diverse.