# Cannibal who ate my coworker (who volunteered to be eaten) being retried **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 15, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123 "2006-01-15T21:15:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/1 "2006-01-15T21:15:42Z")
The guy who ate my coworker, first described in [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=174724) thread, is being retried: > [@](#): > > A German cannibal was led handcuffed into court on Thursday for a retrial to determine whether killing a man who wanted to be eaten amounts to murder. > [@](#): > > Meiwes was first sentenced in January 2004 to 8-1/2 years for manslaughter, but the Supreme Court ruled last April that the verdict was too lenient and ordered a retrial. [http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1497243](http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1497243) I guess it’s not too surprising there’s going to be some legal strangeness from this bizarre situation. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/2 "2006-01-15T21:18:24Z")
I remember this, and your thread. But I wanted to say that the episode is fodder for a great B-movie title: **Cannibals Ate My Coworker** ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/3 "2006-01-16T00:16:04Z")
I liked this bit… “the Supreme Court ruled that the verdict was too lenient” Really! ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/4 "2006-01-16T01:41:35Z")
Hunh. According to the article, raw or cooked, the guy’s penis proved inedible. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/5 "2006-01-16T03:32:56Z")
> [@Ashes](#): > > Hunh. According to the article, raw or cooked, the guy’s penis proved inedible. I find that a little hard to swallow. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/6 "2006-01-16T04:14:09Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I liked this bit… “the Supreme Court ruled that the verdict was too lenient” > > Really! How does that work? The retrial that is. I thought if you were found guilty you couldn’t be tried again. (Which would be appropriate in the VT child molester case!) Nevermind, I was thinking of you being found innocent, not guilty. Are retrials done very often because the sentencing was too lenient, though? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/7 "2006-01-16T04:43:12Z")
We’re all familiar with the unappetizing details of this rather meaty criminal case; there’s no need to regurgitate the details here, although the justices involved will no doubt bone up on the case history. It sounds like their seminal decision was prompted by their visceral reaction to the case; namely, that they find the prospect of Miewes going free an unpalatable one and have determined to further ruminate his sentencing. Sounds reasonable enough to me; there’s no need to wax dyspeptic over the Supreme Court’s decision. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/8 "2006-01-16T04:48:54Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > How does that work? The retrial that is. I thought if you were found guilty you couldn’t be tried again. (Which would be appropriate in the VT child molester case!) Nevermind, I was thinking of you being found innocent, not guilty. Are retrials done very often because the sentencing was too lenient, though? This is in Germany. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/9 "2006-01-16T04:54:18Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > How does that work? The retrial that is. I thought if you were found guilty you couldn’t be tried again. The verdict only becomes final unless one of the sides appeals it within a certain time frame (IIRC a week in a criminal case.) In this case both sides appealed and the prosecution was successful. So from a technical standpoint he was never acquitted effectively. “Too lenient” is a simplification. The highest court of appeals decided that there was evidence that not all legal criteria for murder had been taken into account properly. Most importantly a sexual motive wasn’t ruled out convincingly. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/10 "2006-01-16T05:30:16Z")
> [@Happy Lendervedder](#): > > This is in Germany. In Soviet Union, you eat cannibal! ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/11 "2006-01-16T05:56:25Z")
> [@Ashes](#): > > Hunh. According to the article, raw or cooked, the guy’s penis proved inedible. You know how it is. When it comes to penis in a mouth; some spit, some swallow. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/12 "2006-01-16T19:48:31Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > In Soviet Union, you eat cannibal! Makes sense, really… After all, you are what you eat. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/13 "2006-01-16T20:26:31Z")
I hope Germany reinstitutes the death penalty, just for this guy. I want them to grant him his request for a last meal. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/14 "2006-01-16T20:32:43Z")
**The Scrivener** --you’ve not only whet my appetite for more, you’re killing me! ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/15 "2006-01-16T20:46:27Z")
I see this being referenced in the Sequential Threads thread, along with: \*\*Pitch a totally fresh idea for a movie or TV show \*\* I dunno, maybe a musical with Barbra Streisand singing the title song: _“People, People who eat people, Are the hungriest people in the world…”_ ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/16 "2006-01-16T23:37:38Z")
Wish I could find the article for you **Revtim** , I just read something about this guy a few days ago. While he is in jail he has been suing everyone and their brother. Something about unauthorized biographies or something. I’m not sure how you can defame a convicted cannibal but appartently you can. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/17 "2006-01-17T00:00:48Z")
I read something about Miewes suing the [I’m pretty sure German] makers of a film (fictionalized? documentary? I think it was the latter), on the grounds that it was defamatory. (Perhaps he just doesn’t care for his life becoming grist for the pop-cultural mill.) I don’t think the film’s been released anywhere yet, due to the legal action. I couldn’t find it on IMDB… some interesting keyword searches be damned. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/18 "2006-01-17T00:31:21Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Wish I could find the article for you **Revtim** , I just read something about this guy a few days ago. While he is in jail he has been suing everyone and their brother. Something about unauthorized biographies or something. I’m not sure how you can defame a convicted cannibal but appartently you can. Maybe it was this: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10787534/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10787534/) > [@](#): > > A German cannibal is taking legal action to stop the release of the horror film “Butterfly: A Grimm Love Story,” which he claims is based on his life. > [@](#): > > Meiwes also is suing German rock band Rammstein, claiming its song “Mein Teil” (My Piece) refers to his case. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/19 "2006-01-17T18:50:27Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Maybe it was this: > [MSN | Outlook, Office, Skype, Bing, Breaking News, and Latest Videos](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10787534/) I don’t remember if that was the exact article but that was the info I was refering to. He ate someone, how much worse can the movie be? Did it say he used the wrong wine with dinner? ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123/20 "2006-01-17T19:19:08Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I hope Germany reinstitutes the death penalty, just for this guy. > > I want them to grant him his request for a last meal. > > Regards, > Shodan They’d give him a prison line-up. Kinda like a buffet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-who-ate-my-coworker-who-volunteered-to-be-eaten-being-retried/340123.md?page=2)