{"id":55814,"date":"2023-10-12T17:54:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T17:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/state-wants-life-for-american-killers"},"modified":"2023-10-12T18:12:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T18:12:00","slug":"state-wants-life-for-american-killers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/state-wants-life-for-american-killers","title":{"rendered":"State wants life for American killers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>Deputy prosecutor general Antonia Verhoef yesterday requested Windhoek High Court judge Christie Liebenberg to sentence the two American citizens, convicted of an assassin-like murder of Namibian Andre\u0301 Heckmair in 2011, to life imprisonment.<\/p>\n

According to her, their moral blameworthiness is such that any sentence less than life would be an insult to Heckmair\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are dealing with very dangerous criminals here,\u201d said Verhoef.<\/p>\n

She further said there was no motive for the murder, as the accused continue with their denials.<\/p>\n

While it is their right to maintain their innocence \u2013 even considering their convictions, Verhoef said, Heckmair\u2019s family needs to know what happened and why.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe accused did not show any remorse \u2013 only their lawyers offered professed regret for the lost life from the bar, but that does not equate to remorse,\u201d she submitted, further stating that regret is not remorse, and that Heckmair\u2019s execution was planned.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvidence showed that the accused already met in New York \u2013 and flew from there, to Windhoek with the express goal of murdering the deceased,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

With regards to the 13 years the accused already spent in pre-trial custody, Verhoef said it was mainly due to their own doing.<\/p>\n

Verhoef told the judge that the agony and pain suffered by Heckmair\u2019s family must be taken as an aggravating factor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe courts must send a deterrent message that the levels of violent crimes and the prevalence thereof will not be tolerated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Salomon Kanyemba, on behalf of Marcus Thomas, argued that his client was a youthful offender of 26 at the time of the offences. While his client maintains his innocence, he regrets that a life was lost, he said.<\/p>\n

According to Kanyemba, the 13 years his client spent in prison in pre-trial custody must be subtracted from the sentence imposed.<\/p>\n

He proposed a sentence of 20 years for the murder conviction and fines of N$2 000 for each count of arms and ammunition convictions and the attempt to defeat the course of justice convictions.<\/p>\n

Lawyer Mbanga Siyomunji, on behalf of Kevan Townsend, submitted that his client too was a first-time youthful offender at the age of 24 when the offences were committed.<\/p>\n

He said Townsend is suffering from Hyperthyroidism, kidney disease and liver damage, which are serious illnesses.<\/p>\n

He too asked for a sentence of 20 years on the murder conviction and fines on the arms and ammunition convictions.<\/p>\n

Judge Liebenberg convicted Thomas and Townsend of murder with direct intent on 6 September and found that they acted with a common purpose in committing the crime.<\/p>\n

While there was no direct evidence that linked the accused to the murder and robbery, the circumstantial evidence in its totality is overwhelming, the judge noted.<\/p>\n

Thomas and Townsend opted not to testify in their own defence after the State closed its case.<\/p>\n

However, the duo applied for a discharge in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, which the court dismissed.<\/p>\n

Judge Liebenberg will impose sentences on 15 November.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. Deputy prosecutor general Antonia Verhoef yesterday requested Windhoek High Court judge Christie Liebenberg to sentence the two American citizens, convicted of an assassin-like murder of Namibian Andre\u0301 Heckmair in 2011, to life imprisonment. According to her, their moral blameworthiness is such that any sentence less than life would be an insult to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":55813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-55814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nState wants life for American killers - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Deputy prosecutor general Antonia Verhoef yesterday requested Windhoek High Court judge Christie Liebenberg to sentence ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/state-wants-life-for-american-killers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"State wants life for American killers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Deputy prosecutor general Antonia Verhoef yesterday requested Windhoek High Court judge Christie Liebenberg to sentence ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/state-wants-life-for-american-killers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-12T17:54:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-12T18:12:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/10\/sm_1697121660.453878.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"504\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/state-wants-life-for-american-killers#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/state-wants-life-for-american-killers\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"State wants life for American killers\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-12T17:54:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-12T18:12:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/state-wants-life-for-american-killers\"},\"wordCount\":507,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/state-wants-life-for-american-killers#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/10\/sm_1697121660.453878.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/state-wants-life-for-american-killers#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/state-wants-life-for-american-killers\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/state-wants-life-for-american-killers\",\"name\":\"State wants life for American killers - 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