Der besonders schwere Fall des Totschlags

The discussion about reforming the law on homicide mainly revolves around the characteristics of murder and the absolute threat of lifelong imprisonment. However, it is not only murderers who can face this sentence. Lifelong imprisonment is also the punishment for aggravated cases of manslaughter. Even so, there are very few decisions that apply this law, which could stem from the unanswered question of typical cases of aggravated manslaughter. A specification of the law can be achieved by examining its historical development and previous jurisprudence. On that basis, a proposal for a reform of the law on aggravated cases of manslaughter is presented.