Facts
The case concerns Charles Glaas, a 22-year-old man, who threatened his father with a loaded and unloaded military rifle. The incident occurred on December 31, 1966, while Glaas was in a state of intoxication and in a fit of rage towards his father. He pointed the rifle at his father, then fired a shot beside him, at a distance of approximately 1.2 meters. The father managed to escape without being injured.
Glaas was convicted by the Basel-Stadt criminal court for endangering the life of another person (art. 129 al. 1 SCC) and for abuse and waste of military equipment (art. 73 MStG). He was sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year suspended sentence.
Glaas appealed against this judgment, but the Basel-Stadt cantonal court of appeal upheld the first-instance judgment. Glaas then filed a nullity appeal against this judgment, requesting to be acquitted of the charge of endangering the life of another person.
Considerations
1. Imminent Danger of Death
The federal court examined whether Glaas' actions had put his father in imminent danger of death. The court considered that imminent danger of death is a concept that requires a concrete assessment of the situation. In this case, Glaas had pointed the rifle at his father and fired a shot beside him, which had put his father in imminent danger of death.
2. Notion of the Act Committed Intentionally
The court also examined whether Glaas had acted intentionally in pointing the rifle at his father and firing a shot. The court considered that the act committed intentionally requires that the perpetrator had the intention of putting the victim in danger of death. In this case, Glaas had pointed the rifle at his father and fired a shot, which…