The Bavarian state is to give over €1 million to a man who spent 13 years in jail on murder charges that were overturned. Prosecutors had previously called for him to pay for board and lodgings in jail after his release.
A two-year-long legal battle by a German man who was the victim of a major miscarriage of justice ended on Wednesday when he was granted €1.3 million ($1.5 million) in compensation from the Bavarian state, the state’s Justice Ministry said.
Manfred Genditzki, a former apartment building superintendent, was jailed for life in 2010 after being found guilty by a Munich regonal court of drowning an elderly woman from Rottach-Egern in her bathtub in 2008. Shortly after his sentencing, forensic medical experts began to cast doubt on his guilt. By 2018, local and state lawmakers were suggesting that he had been wrongly convicted.
He was released in 2022 and was acquitted in 2023 at a successful retrial, with the woman’s death deemed a probable accident.
In all, he spent 13 years or 4,916 days behind bars.
Genditzki’s long fight for compensation
After his release, Genditzki and his lawyer sought compensation from the Bavarian state.
Among other things, they rejected a demand from the state prosecutors that he pay almost €100,000 for board and lodgings during his imprisonment, instead calling for €750,000 in compensation.
The agreement announced on Wednesday covers that demand, with the Justice Ministry pointing out that Genditzki will not be able to retain the entire €1.3 million granted, as some of it is subject to taxes, and he also has to pay lawyer’s fees.
The long legal process has also triggered calls by the ministry to revise the rules on compensation for victims of miscarriages of justice.
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher
DW News
