In March 1981, the 31-year-old Marianne Bachmeier shot Klaus Grabowski six times in the back during a court hearing, killing him instantly. There was no doubt that Bachmeier had murdered Grabowski. There were plenty of witnesses. Even the presiding judge had seen her draw the gun and shoot. Yet Marianne Bachmeier was not prosecuted for murder. She was only accused of the lesser charge of manslaughter and on conviction sentenced to a minimal jail term of six years, of which she only served three. Why was she treated so leniently?
On 5 May 1980, Anna Bachmeier, Marianne's seven-year-old daughter was abducted by Klaus Grabowski while on her way to school. Grabowski, a convicted sex offender with a history of sexual violence who had served time for similar offences, lured the young Anna to his home. He subjected her to several hours of unimaginable terror and abuse before strangling her with his fiancee's stockings. He then placed her lifeless body in a cardboard box and dumped it by a canal where it was discovered.
The German police acted swiftly and within the year Grabowski had been apprehended and charged with the abuse and murder of the young girl. On the third day of the trial, Marianne smuggled a Beretta 0.22 calibre pistol into the courtroom. As Klaus Grabowski started describing the events leading to her daughter's death, Marianne stood up and fired seven shots at him striking him six times in the back. Grabowski fell to the floor, fatally injured. The courtroom descended into chaos and Marianne was immediately arrested and initially charged with murder. That sent shockwaves throughout the country, igniting a heated national debate about the failings of the country's justice system and a vociferous defence of Marianne's actions.
During her trial Marianne described her overwhelming sense of helplessness in the face of a failing justice system. She recounted the horrific murder of her daughter and the added insult of the months of delay before Grabowski was charged. A large part of the country empathised with the grieving mother driven to such a desperate act of retribution by a weak and ineffective justice system. The majority of Germans supported her, seeing her as a champion of the victims of crime let down by a justice system that favoured the criminal. Many admired her for having the courage to take matters into her own hands. And the court proved sympathetic too. Her charges were downgraded to manslaughter and possession of a firearm and she received the lightest sentence possible - six years' jail, reduced to three for good behaviour.
Even decades later, Marianne Bachmeier still elicits sympathy for the trauma she went through. Her drastic actions are still condoned. Practically nobody begrudged the grieving mother her lenient sentence or her early release, even though the German police had actually brought the culprit to justice within months of the crime. Now imagine if the German police had taken a whole two years to apprehend the suspect and waited for another five years and still hadn't brought him to trial. Imagine if more than seven years after the brutal murder of a loved one, the suspected chief perpetrator was out on bail roaming the streets. How much more justified would Marianne Bachmeier be for taking the law into her own hands?
Think also about the desperate mother of a young drug addict who reported him to the police in a last-ditch attempt to protect him from substance abuse and the gangs who sold him the drugs. Her son was jailed and subjected to such abuse that he committed suicide while at Corradino correctional facility under the leadership of Colonel Alex Dalli. Think about the parents of the young lady who was thrown into solitary confinement within hours of having attempted suicide only to re-attempt suicide in that very cell - and losing her life just days later.
A detailed report by the Ombudsman confirmed to the nation and especially to the parents and relatives of some of those 14 individuals who lost their life at Corradino Correctional facility during the brutal leadership of Alex Dalli that they died because of the conditions to which they were subjected while incarcerated. Yet despite such a categorical condemnation of Alex Dalli's tactics, Prime Minister Robert Abela came out in resolute defence of the Colonel, defiantly insisting that he wouldn't sack him. Wouldn't those parents be fully justified in feeling that the system failed them twice over? Abela's insensitivity made them relive the anguish of the loss of their loved ones. Not only did they lose their children but they were subjected to the indignity of the staggering callousness of a Prime Minister who failed to offer them an apology and who robustly defended the unconscionable actions of Alex Dalli. Instead of offering sincere condolences and a pledge to the grieving parents to seek justice for their loved ones, Robert Abela protects the culprit.
The least Robert Abela could do was keep silent. It was bad enough that he didn't promise to implement the report's recommendations, but to insult the Ombudsman and accuse him of "sitting in comfort behind his desk" was disgraceful. It was bad enough that Abela didn't even bother expressing a word of regret at the reckless loss of so many human lives, but to defend the man under whose responsibility those deaths occurred and praise him for "the miracles" he's done was sickening.
Those parents are right to feel aggrieved. The families of those who died while subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment at Alex Dalli's hands are right - the system failed them abysmally, showed them no sympathy and provided them no justice. They deserve our sympathy - but they also deserve justice. If it's of any solace, they should know the whole country is on their side - only Robert Abela isn't.