In October 2017, after returning home, Dominik K. found his intoxicated mother and her partner, who had once again sold his personal belongings to buy alcohol. Dominik attacked them. He injured his mother with a knife and killed her partner. The case was widely discussed in the national media in the context of violence against children in families affected by alcohol addiction.
At the hearing, two teams of psychiatrists and psychologists from Bolesławiec and Warsaw confirmed that, during the incident, Dominik K. had lost the ability to recognize the nature of his actions and control his conduct within the meaning of Article 31 § 1 of the Criminal Code.
A teleconference was held to hear the experts from the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Department of Forensic Psychiatry in Warsaw, who had prepared a forensic psychiatric and psychological opinion. This enabled the Court to review the opinion of Prof. Janusz Heizman, MD, PhD, Janusz Heizman, a recognized specialist in psychiatry, social pathology and forensic psychiatry.
In their opinion, the experts stated that there was no need to apply any preventive measures against Dominik K., since the acts of which he was accused were manifestations of behavior completely alien to his personality and occurred in particular, exceptional circumstances that should be assumed never to recur.
Professor Heizman’s team also agreed with the experts from Bolesławiec that Dominik’s therapy and psychotherapy should continue to help him function better. It found that, during the examination in Warsaw in the winter of the previous year, the defendant had been receiving such care from therapists of the Polish Psychopedagogical Association.
“One can imagine a teenager who is able to stand up for himself and withdraw from such an arrangement [w jakim funkcjonował Dominik, żyjąc z alkoholikami: matką i jej konkubentem przyp. red.],” explained an expert from the Warsaw team. “However, Dominik always endured the persecution. The last two years of their life together were particularly traumatic for him, when his mother’s partner simply preyed on him. He did not work and demanded money for his support. The defendant felt an emotional bond with and responsibility for his mother. Toward her partner, he felt only negative emotions, as he openly said during the interview that he would have been much better off with his mother, even if she was drinking, if her partner had not been there. During the last two years of their life together, the theft of Dominik’s belongings intensified, which he patiently endured until his ability to adapt to this traumatic situation was exhausted,” the expert added.
The Court decided to analyze once again the materials submitted by the experts and set the final hearing for August 2019, despite the readiness of defense lawyers Wojciech Kasprzyk and Małgorzata Gruszecka to conclude the case. The Court also informed those present that the act alleged against the defendant could be classified as an offense under Article 148 § 1 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 31 § 1:
If, at the time the offense was committed, the ability to recognize the significance of the act or control one’s conduct was substantially impaired, the court may apply an extraordinary mitigation of the penalty.
