The appeal of Peter Madsen, the submariner who in April was found guilty of murdering journalist Kim Wall in August 2017, is scheduled to begin at 09:30 at the Østre Landsret high court in Copenhagen.
Madsen is not appealing against his murder conviction, but against the length of his sentence. His defence will argue that life imprisonment is too severe for the murder of just one person, and normally only handed out for multiple killings.
Experts predict there is a good chance Madsen will win and succeed in having his sentence reduced to 16 years.
New judges and prosecutor
The case has a new set of judges, and Kristian Kirk has replaced Jakob Buch-Jepsen as the chief prosecutor.
Madsen has meanwhile retained his lawyer, Betina Hald Engmark, who has told media that her client denies murdering Wall, but no longer has the “energy to fight anymore”.
Kirk was previously the main state prosecutor in the Kundby ‘jihad girl’ case, and it is believed he will argue in court that Madsen will pose a danger to society should he be released from prison earlier than planned.
Three days in court
His success will hinge on the verdicts of six judges: three judges and three domsmænd lay-judges. Should their verdict be a split decision, Madsen will win his appeal.
Madsen’s appeal will be heard over three days: today, Wednesday September 12 and Friday September 14.
