In the trial surrounding the fatal rampage in Trier, the defense on Thursday demanded that the accused be placed in a closed psychiatric ward.
According to the presiding judge, Petra Schmitz, the verdict in the proceedings before the Trier district court is to be announced on August 16
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almost a year after the trial began.
In their pleadings, the public defenders Martha Schwiering and Frank Kay Peter referred to the opinion of a psychiatric expert, according to which the accused suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and is less criminally responsible.
Therefore, they did not demand life imprisonment and no particular severity of guilt for the alleged gunman, as the two lawyers explained.
They also gave no information on how long they thought the 52-year-old should be in a closed psychiatric ward.
The defenders expressed their deepest condolences to the injured and survivors of the victims of the rampage.
The defendant waived his right to have the last word before sentencing.
Life imprisonment demanded
The public prosecutor's office in Trier had demanded life imprisonment for the 52-year-old and the determination of the particular severity of the guilt.
Because of the mental illness of the man, the prosecution also applied for his placement in a psychiatric hospital.
Victim lawyers, representing the co-plaintiffs, also pleaded for life imprisonment.
Five people were killed in the rampage on December 1, 2020.
There were also many injured and traumatized.
The accused has been on trial as a suspected perpetrator since August 19, 2021.
Prosecutors have charged him with five counts of murder and 18 counts of attempted murder.
The German is said to have raced through the Trier pedestrian zone in his SUV in order to kill or injure as many people as possible.
The 52-year-old also remained silent during the trial.