Serial Murders of Homeless People: Analysis of SAP Barcelona nº 36/2023, of June 30

Abstract

Analysis of the SAP Barcelona nº 36/2023, of June 30, unprecedented in the sentence for crimes against moral integrity in concurrence with crimes of murder, which consolidates the doctrine on hate crimes and discrimination, sanctioning the violation of the fundamental right to dignity in its current aspect of prohibiting degrading and inhuman treatment of members of discriminated groups. Another notable issue of SAP Barcelona No. 36/2023 is the exclusion of reviewable life imprisonment, given the current interpretation of art. 140.2º CP, which does not differentiate in this sense multiple murders from those committed in series, despite having an unequal assessment from the perspective of the unjust. Likewise, the expert intelligence evidence and the novel «virtual tour» or video expert report presented before the Jury Court stand out in this prosecution, and the disparity of criteria that exists in the practice of so-called covert compliance. The guiding principles in this work are the fundamental right to free development of the person and individual identity as legal assets subject to protection.