澳大利亚厨师朱德·维杰辛格因2023年在堪培拉国家动物园谋杀同事特什旺·卓登而被判30年监禁，现已向上诉法院提起上诉，寻求减轻刑罚[1]。维杰辛格被澳大利亚首都地区最高法院于去年12月宣判，非假释期设定为20年[1]。案件中，维杰辛格将受害人困在储藏室内，共刺伤14次致其死亡[1]。
首席大法官露西·麦卡勒姆在原审中形容这起案件是"一个嫉妒、占有欲强的男人对脆弱女性的谋杀暴力"[1]。辩护方在上诉中主张，维杰辛格患有重度抑郁症和病态迷恋，法院在量刑时未能充分考虑这些精神障碍因素[1]。虽然首席大法官在原判中承认精神疾病"提供了某种解释"并降低了道德责任，但并未以此减轻整体刑罚[1]。
公诉方律师伊丽莎白·鲁德尔在上诉中辩称，犯罪的客观严重性应独立于道德责任考量，并强调"不要忘记这场谋杀有多恐怖。死者被困在房间里，知道她将要死亡"[1]。上诉由大法官达里尔·兰吉亚、安德鲁·穆勒和乔恩·怀特审理，上诉法院将在稍后做出裁决[1]。
Australian chef Jude Vejsing is challenging his 30-year prison sentence for the 2023 murder of colleague Teshwini Chhoden at the National Zoo in Canberra [1]. Vejsing was sentenced in December by the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court to a non-parole period of 20 years [1]. The defense argues that the court failed to adequately account for Vejsing's severe depression and obsessive fixation at the time of the crime, contending that his sentence should be reduced [1]. Chief Justice Lucy McCallum had described the killing as "a murder by a jealous, possessive man of a vulnerable woman" [1], yet acknowledged that mental illness "provided some explanation" and reduced moral culpability, though this did not result in a lighter overall sentence [1].
The victim was trapped in a storage room and stabbed 14 times [1]. During the appeal hearing before Justices Daryl Rangiah, Andrew Muller, and Jon White, the prosecution countered that the objective severity of the crime should be considered independently from questions of moral responsibility [1]. Prosecutor Elizabeth Ruddle emphasized the brutality of the incident, stating: "Don't forget how horrific this murder was. The victim was locked in a room knowing she was going to die" [1]. The appeal court will deliver its decision at a later date [1].