Serial child killer sentence upheld

Judge Jan Sokulski (C) sums up at the appeal court in Rzeszow. Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz

Judge Jan Sokulski declared that Mariusz T. (full name withheld under Polish privacy laws) will be confined indefinitely at a mental health unit.

However, court spokesman Roman Skrzypek stressed that Mariusz T. is entitled to submit an application “at any time” calling for a further psychological examination. If deemed safe to the public he would then be released.

The case of Mariusz T. (full name withheld under Polish privacy laws) sparked widespread public debate earlier this year, culminating around the convict's release from prison on 11 February.

Just one month later, a district court in Rzeszow ruled at a postponed hearing that Mariusz T. had a 'mental disorder' that made him a threat to the public.

Lawyer Marcin Lewandowski appealed against the sentence.

Pawel Majcher, spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior, noted early on Wednesday on his Twitter account that Mariusz T. has already been escorted to a closed mental health unit in Gostynin, central Poland.

Over the last two months, Mariusz T. has been under constant police supervision.

Mariusz T. raped and murdered four boys in 1988, in Piotrkow Trybunalski, central Poland. He was sentenced to death in the original trial.

However, all death sentences were commuted to sentences of 25 years with the collapse of the communist regime in Poland. (nh)

Source: PAP