At the entrance to the school in Ohradní Street in Michla, Prague, a place of worship has been created, where people commemorate the slain teacher with candles and flowers. Criminal proceedings were initiated in the case of the attack on the teacher. The picture is from April 1, 2022.
Prague – Today, the Prague Municipal Court sentenced Jaroslav Řehák to 12 years in prison for the machete murder of a 74-year-old teacher at a secondary vocational school in Michla, Prague. He also prescribed outpatient treatment. The young man confessed to the crime, in December he testified in court that the teacher humiliated him during an exam and bullied him. The verdict is not final.
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Photo gallery: Attack on a teacher in Michli
Rehák was charged with premeditated murder, which carries a sentence of 12 to 20 years. State attorney Jana Murínová, however, suggested that he be sentenced according to stricter qualifications, because according to her, it was a murder committed in a brutal manner. For this, the courts can impose a sentence of 15 to 20 years, or even an exceptional sentence.
The court granted the proposal to tighten the legal qualification, but imposed a penalty at the statutory rate. “It is proven that the defendant committed the crime under reduced sanity,” explained the chairman of the criminal panel, Tome Frankič. According to experts, Řehák had significantly reduced control abilities at the time of the crime, his recognition abilities remained intact. The judge also took into account other mitigating circumstances. For example, that the defendant confessed to the crime.
Frankič also said that the sentence was towards the limit of the highest possible sentence that can be imposed on a juvenile, which is ten years. He justified this by the fact that although Řehák was 19 years old at the time of the crime, his mental state corresponds to that of a juvenile. “However, he is an adult, he is not insane, he is therefore criminally responsible and everything that testifies in his favor has been taken into account,” said the judge. In addition, based on the recommendations of experts, he sent Řehák to a milder type of prison.
The public prosecutor also proposed a reduced sentence for Řehák, but she wanted 14 years in prison for him. She told reporters after the hearing that she would probably appeal the verdict. Řehák's defense attorney, on the other hand, demanded that the young man be convicted of manslaughter, which is the killing of another in a strong disturbance of fear, fright, confusion or other excusable movement of the mind, or as a result of previous reprehensible actions of the victim. According to Frankič, this is not appropriate.
Rehák apologized for his act today. According to his statement, he was mentally at the bottom, he did not know what he was doing and what the consequences would be.
According to the indictment, the young man killed the teacher on March 31 last year in the school building in Ohradní street. A day earlier, the teacher had marked him as insufficient in the subject of communication technology. According to the public prosecutor, the defendant developed a sense of grievance and frustration because of the bad grade and the long-term bad relationship between him and the teacher.
The prosecution claims that Řehák first wanted to burn the teacher, but then decided to kill him immediately. At school, he hid in the toilets and waited for the teacher to enter his office. There, the young man attacked him with a 60-centimeter-long machete, inflicting several wounds on his head, neck and back. The doctors could no longer help the accused.
Outpatient treatment, which the court imposed on Řehák without authority today in addition to the sentence, was also suggested by experts for the defendant. According to them, there is no need for institutional treatment, the young man is currently not dangerous to society. According to experts, this is a preventive measure so that Řehák does not act impulsively if he finds himself in a crisis situation again. In addition, he can perform outpatient treatment even in prison.
According to the non-judicial verdict, Řehák must also pay non-pecuniary damage to the teacher's family. He is to pay 2.53 million crowns to his wife and 2.41 million crowns each to his daughters. The insurance company should then pay 12,000 crowns.
