(Dagbladet): 40 years old Henning Hotvedt was today found guilty by the jury in the Court of Appeal for the death of Kristin Juel Johannessen (12) 5. August 1999.
Next week the court decide how long punishment he should receive.
Hotvedt was in 2001 sentenced to 12 years in prison for murder. He was then acquitted, because doubts arose about a hårbevis, before he was indicted and charged again after new DNA findings in 2015.
Hotvedt be judged by the law that was the time.
– Penalties level now is a completely different in this kind of actions than it was then. It will be an interesting straffutmålingsdel, purely academic point of view, says Meling.
In 1999, the penalty for killing 6 to 15 years. Now there are 8 to 21 years. Prosecutors can not ask for more than 15 years and a minimum of 6 years. But prosecutors are not formally bound by that murder at the time rarely gave more than 10 years in prison.
Defender Meling also believe that there are certain factors which indicate that the client should get a shorter sentence than he got the time .
– there is naturally a very key consideration in sentencing that it has been so long ago, and all the attention this issue has received, says Meling.
– Aggravating not relent grace
Kristin’s father, Roar Juel Johannessen said the family wants a more severe penalty than that which was given by the District court in 2001.
– I know that they go out of the penal code in force at the time. The punishment seems we are low. To date, we had a quite different punishment. But we will take as it comes.
Johannessen does not agree with defending Meling in the time that has passed is an extenuating considerations.
– We believes that it is aggravating. This has worn on us. It has virtually destroyed our family.
Prosecutor Alf Martin Evensen says they will use the weekend to consider what kind of statement they will lay down.
– the principle is that he should be considered for what was legislation then. Then we’ll see if the elapsed time will have some impact on it.
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