On September 9, 2019, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court announced three criminal cases under Decision No. 293 / QD-CA, including the No. 28/2019 / AL case law on ” murder in a state of agitation “. The case law was applied in the hearing from October 10, 2019.
Some notable contents of the case law No. 28/2019 / AL:
Case law: The victim committed a series of illegal acts to attack the defendant continuously and prolonged, causing the defendant to be psychologically inhibited and mentally agitated. In a state of incontinence, the defendant pierced the victim with a knife to escape the attack. The defendant is not fully aware of the nature and extent of danger of the acts he has committed. The consequences lead to death;
Consistent judgment of courts of all levels:
Criminal record of first instance No. 14/2017 / HSST dated May 9, 2017 of the People’s Court of Dak Lak province penalizing defendant 02 (two) years 06 (six) months of imprisonment on charges of “Murder in state the spirit is strongly agitated ”
Appellate criminal sentence No. 200/2017 / HSPT dated August 10, 2017 of the Supreme People’s Court in Da Nang, revising the first-instance judgment on penal liability and sanctioning the defendant for 07 (seven) years jail for “Murder” charges.
Judgment of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court:
The victim is the one who caused, attacked the defendant first;
Attack behavior of the victim takes place continuously with increasing levels
The acts of the victim are illegal, infringing on the physical safety of the defendant;
In a state of agitation leading to a loss of self-control, not fully aware of the nature and severity of their acts, the defendant pierced the damaged chest with a knife to escape the attack;
The appellate court judged that the defendant was mentally agitated, but not to the extent of strong agitation, not yet an objective and comprehensive consideration of the causes and course of the incident as well as the severity serious and continuous acts of unlawful acts of victims, thereby transferring the offense from “Murdering in a state of strongly agitated spirit” to “Murdering” with respect to the accused.
The announcement of the 28/2019 / AL case law of the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court has created an important legal foundation, unifying how to identify crimes for the crime of ” murder in a state of agitation “, contributing to ensuring that the Court’s judicial work is fair, right person, right crime.