Last summer, a 36-year-old man from Fredrikstad was sentenced to ten years in prison for attempted murder of two people on the E6 in Sarpsborg. Now the Court of Appeal has sentenced him to eight years in prison. The sentence was reduced because the Court of Appeal believes he was acutely paranoid psychotic when he carried out the attempted murder. – Despite his health condition, it is fair and reasonable to hold him criminally responsible, the judgment states. The judgment is not final. 180 kilometers per hour The attempted murder took place on the E6 motorway at Grålum in Sarpsborg in 2021. After driving past a number of cars at very high speed, the man crashed into another car at 180 kilometers per hour. In the passenger seat sat his then wife. She was slightly injured, while the driver of the other car suffered serious head injuries. – She is still on sick leave, and has been all along, says legal aid lawyer Elna Kristin Holbye. Fredriksstad Blad mentioned the judgment from the Court of Appeal first. The collision occurred southbound on the E6 at Grålum in Sarpsborg in 2021. Photo: Petter Larsson/news Anker til Høyesterett The man thought he was too ill to be punished. He therefore appealed the district court’s judgment. – We believe that his state of mind and ability to function were of such a nature that he cannot be held criminally sane, says defender Ole Petter Drevland. The recent judgment from the Court of Appeal will also be appealed, warns the defender. – This is a borderline case, and there is little practice in the area. Therefore, it will be interesting to see if the Supreme Court takes up the case. Lawyer Ole Petter Drevland defends the man who has now been convicted in two courts. The judgment from the Court of Appeal is not legally binding. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB Satisfied The verdict is in line with the claim made by Acting State Attorney Karl Kristian Nordheim in court. – The main issue before the court was whether the defendant was criminally sane or not. We are very satisfied that they agreed with the prosecution that he was at the time of the crime, says Nordheim. He will not appeal the sentence. The Court of Appeal reduced the district court’s sentence by 20 percent. The reason is that they believe the 36-year-old was acutely paranoid psychotic when the accident occurred. Photo: Freddie Larsen Ex-wife dropped compensation claim In the district court, the man was also sentenced to pay NOK 130,000 to his ex-wife. This claim was not presented in the Court of Appeal, because she has children with him. This is stated by legal aid lawyer Tore Øydne to news. – She did not want the defendant to be punished, but rather that he should receive the help and treatment that he needs, says Øydne. The 36-year-old was sentenced to pay restitution to the woman who drove the other car. In addition, he must pay compensation to an insurance company. In total, we are talking about almost NOK 800,000. He is also permanently disqualified from driving. In practice, this means that he will be able to apply to get his driving license back in five years at the earliest.
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Gets a reduced sentence for attempted murder at 180 kilometers per hour – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
