Manfred Genditzki, a former apartment building caretaker, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Munich court in 2010 for allegedly murdering an elderly woman in her bathtub in 2008.
However, forensic experts had long questioned the verdict. A recent expert report concluded that the woman may have accidentally drowned after slipping into the bathtub while doing laundry. The report also established the time of death, during which Genditzki had an alibi.
In 2023, the conviction was overturned and Genditzki was acquitted. He had spent 13 years in prison, a total of 4,916 days.
Following his release, Genditzki and his lawyers sought compensation from the Bavarian state government. At the time of his conviction, compensation for wrongful imprisonment stood at €25 per day, which was increased to €75 per day in 2020. At that rate, his compensation would have amounted to around €369,000.
The Bavarian justice ministry said it supports proposals to further raise compensation to €100 per day.
On Wednesday, the ministry clarified that the €1.3 million awarded to Genditzki includes payments already made and future costs such as legal fees, court expenses and taxes, as part of a settlement agreement.
Tags Manfred Genditzki, Wrongful Conviction, Germany, Compensation, Bavaria, Forensic Science
Slug manfred-genditzki-wrongful-imprisonment-settlement-bavaria
Synopsis Manfred Genditzki has been awarded €1.3 million after serving 13 years for a wrongful murder conviction.
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