Enough Enough – V.G

KARMØY (VG) How long should the rule of law allow an innocent person to live with false murder charges against him?

It is an opinion. Comment expresses the writer’s position

Almost a year after that One A man in his 50s was arrested, the man named as the man behind the murder of Birgitte Tengs is still being held in a cell in Stavanger prison. A hearing has already been scheduled. If the public prosecutor presses charges, the man will be brought to court – accused of brutally killing Birgit Dengs (17).

At the same time, another man, a relative of the Karmoy woman two years older, is in a town in Spain. He doesn’t live or work abroad because he really wants to. The reason is that he was – for more than 25 years – responsible for the death of his cousin through a controversial, but equally valid, conviction.

Despite being acquitted by a jury at the Court of Appeal, he was still held responsible for the murder. This happened because the Court of Appeals, by rendering a civil judgment, determined that he was probably guilty. This has been the case since the judgment in 1998. It continues despite the belief of the police, prosecution and judiciary. A lot A man in his 50s claims to have committed the murders.

How can the rule of law hold two persons responsible for a crime which the same rule of law believes that only one of them could have committed? How can violations continue?

The answers can certainly be found in the law. There is no dearth of lawyers rushing to explain why the absurd situation arose in the Tengs case. This violates the ten year limitation period under the Disputes Act. Injustice in this case, the judgment against the relative must be settled anyway – the law must be changed.

Because law was not created primarily for lawyers. On the contrary – it is for ordinary people. It must be understood by the majority of the people, hence the “common sense of the law”. Quite simply, you and I need to understand how the rule of law works and have confidence in the decisions that are made.

In Deng’s case that seems impossible. Despite police and prosecutors identifying what they believe to be the culprit and the Justice Department determining the evidence against him to be particularly strong, his relative remains financially responsible for the murder. 50s confirmed.

Anyone can understand.

When investigators began investigating the Gold case in 2016, they never looked the relative’s way. Eventually, letters from the police also landed in the hard-pressed family’s mailbox. In the new investigation it was written in black and white that the relative was never charged and was not suspected.

Some have argued that a civil judgment against a relative should be stayed pending a final judgment against the person under 50. Perhaps that will eventually happen in 2023, but it could be 2024 before this legislative process is completed. Perhaps such an approach is logical from a purely legal point of view.

But a visit to a grey-painted house in Karmoi can contribute to other perspectives. There, both the good coffee and the ocean view quickly acquire a strong aftertaste. Because here sits a tough father, or little man as I use that term, who has been fighting a legal system for over 25 years. He has seen a son change his entire adult life as a result of the allegations, and he is part of a large family where many have no spoken words.

Let’s be clear: this is not about any prior conviction against a person under 50. Like everyone else he is innocent until proven guilty. It will first take place in the courtroom. In this case the man has to get all the legal certainty which he did not have in the previous round.

It is about stopping violations of the law against an apparently innocent man. Someone has to take on a responsibility that more people need to know about. It’s time to do the dishes — and fix the mistakes.