...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead...against a 60-year-old man convicted of murdering Coptic priest Arsanios Wadid last month.
Sounds fair enough to me.
Preliminary death sentences are issued pending the non-binding consultative opinion of the country’s Grand Mufti, as per Egypt's penal code.
The 56-year-old victim, a priest at the Church of the Virgin Mary and Mar Boulos, was stabbed to death on the evening of 7 April as he was walking along the Mediterranean corniche in Alexandria’s Sidi Bishr district.
The assailant was apprehended hours later and confessed to the crime.
The defendant later recanted his confession, however, claiming that the knife found in his possession was just for self-defence and that he was not aware of what he was doing on the day of the incident, according to the prosecution.
The prosecution added that a mental health evaluation determined that the man showed no signs of a psychological disorder and was fully cognizant and possessed agency while committing the crime.
The prosecution also said that the weapon found in possession of the defendant had the victim’s DNA on it.
Hard to argue with DNA.
The prosecution also checked surveillance cameras at the scene of the crime and obtained the testimonies of 17 eyewitnesses.
Also, after conducting interviews with the defendant's relatives, the prosecution learned that he had joined bad boy groups. He had also previously served a 20-year prison sentence for joining an outlawed group.That argues almost as as loud as DNA.
The suspect refused to be defended by a lawyer, and denied the charges against him.
"Nope. Nope. Wudn't me!"
The victim was ordained to the priesthood in 1995 by the late Pope Shenouda III, the former head of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Related:
Church of the Virgin Mary and Mar Boulos: 2022-04-21 Prosecution refers man accused of killing Coptic priest in Alexandria to trial for 'deliberate murder'
Church of the Virgin Mary and Mar Boulos: 2022-04-09 Egypt police arrest man who reportedly stabbed Coptic priest to death in Alexandria
Church of the Virgin Mary and Mar Boulos: 2022-04-08 Egypt police arrest man who reportedly stabbed Coptic priest to death in Alexandria
Church of the Virgin Mary and Mar Boulos: 2022-04-21 Prosecution refers man accused of killing Coptic priest in Alexandria to trial for 'deliberate murder'
Church of the Virgin Mary and Mar Boulos: 2022-04-09 Egypt police arrest man who reportedly stabbed Coptic priest to death in Alexandria
Church of the Virgin Mary and Mar Boulos: 2022-04-08 Egypt police arrest man who reportedly stabbed Coptic priest to death in Alexandria