Facts
On April 6, 2018, the Public Prosecutor's Office IV for Violent Crimes of the Canton of Zurich submitted a request to the District Court of Zurich for the imposition of a measure for a person deemed unfit to stand trial pursuant to Art. 374 et seq. CPC. It accused the appellant of intentional homicide and desecration of the peace of the dead, for which he was deemed unfit to stand trial.
The District Court of Zurich found the appellant guilty of desecration of the peace of the dead and sentenced him to 22 months' imprisonment. It also ordered inpatient therapeutic treatment.
The High Court of the Canton of Zurich upheld the conviction for desecration of the peace of the dead, sentenced the appellant to 22 months' imprisonment, and ordered inpatient therapeutic treatment.
The appellant filed a criminal appeal against the judgment of the High Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court found that the requirements for a procedure under Art. 374 et seq. CPC were not met, as the Public Prosecutor's Office had doubts about the appellant's lack of criminal responsibility and should therefore have initiated the ordinary procedure.
The court of first instance committed a particularly serious and obvious procedural error by pronouncing a guilty verdict…