A 54-year-old woman who killed her brother with disabilities was convicted of murder on Wednesday, although the court addressed the fact that the defendant acted out of fear of being subject to another outburst of violence from the victim.
The Cheonan branch of the Daejeon District Court sentenced the defendant to 12 years in prison for the Jan. 16 murder of her younger brother, who was paralyzed from the waist down.
The defendant had been living with her brother since he became paralyzed due to a workplace injury. She claimed he had physically abused her and that she was trying to tie her brother's hands after having been beaten up the day before. This allegedly led to a struggle that resulted in the victim's death.
The court stated that a murder cannot be justified for any reason, but granted leniency in its ruling.
"The defendant had no reason to intentionally kill the victim since she was living off his pension. It appears that the fear of getting attacked again, after the beating the day before, led to her committing the crime," the court said.
According to the Sentencing Commission under the Supreme Court, standard sentences for murder without extenuating circumstances are between 10 to 16 years in prison. The defendant received the second-lowest of the possible five sentencing levels.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
