Throughout the trial, the defense attorney advised her client not to speak, as his memory and recollection of the incident remains blurry. For the same reason, Danish media has decided not to print his name, and Courthouse News follows that procedure.
As the gunman is deemed insane, he is exempted from criminal law. The defendant’s mental health has been a focal point in the courtroom. Due to the holiday season, there was no worker to operate the line.Ī task force that the Capital Region of Denmark established to investigate the defendant's psychiatric history concluded that he saw no less than 13 different mental health workers in the six months before the shooting.ĭanish newspaper Politiken recently spoke to one of the task force members, a chief doctor in psychiatry, who said that the shooting could have been prevented had the man received a correct diagnosis and medical treatment for paranoid schizophrenia earlier on. The shooting stands as a dark chapter in Danish criminal and psychiatric history, especially since the young man tried to phone the Danish Mental Health Fund’s advisory line for 16 minutes before going into the mall and opening fire with his rifle. While the prosecution and defense both agreed on an insanity defense from the outset of the case, defense attorney Luise Høj argued for a milder sentence of placement within the psychiatric system where the defendant would live under more "normal hospital conditions" and be allowed to transfer between medical units. Key evidence included handwritten notes on the attack, the rifle he brought to the mall, and the fact that he went and examined the doors beforehand. The department is small and reserved for 30 prisoners who are deemed extraordinarily dangerous.ĭuring the reading of the verdict, the judge emphasized the defendant’s level of planning and preparation. The gunman, whose name has not been released by authorities, received the hardest sentence available: indefinite placement in a closed forensic psychiatric department, where security and restriction standards meet those of a prison.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (CN) - The 23-year-old man who shot and killed several people in the Field’s mall outside of Copenhagen on July 3 last year was convicted for murder and attempt of murder Wednesday by the City Court of Copenhagen.
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