Meiwes’s Conviction

Meiwes was eventually arrested in 2002 after a man discovered ads and details of the killing on the internet. Two years later, he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 8 ½ years in prison. There was speculation as to whether he should be convicted since Brandes was a willing sacrifice and cannibalism wasn’t considered a federal crime in Germany at the time. Three years later, in April a retrial was carried out on the request of prosecutors, pointing out that he should’ve been convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison and also considering that Brandes was drunk and drugged when he was “willingly” killed.

On May 10, 2006, a court in Frankfurt, Meiwes was re-convicted from manslaughter to murder and is now serving life in prison. Reportedly, Meiwes expressed remorse for his doings and claims that he will write a biography to turn others away from the path he chose. Supposedly, he became a vegetarian as a result of remorse and the whole affair involving Brandes.

In October 2007, according to Bild-Zeitung, a German newspaper, just like Hannibal Lector from the Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon, Meiwes played a part in the analysis of 2 murder from 1998 and 2000 involving the mutilation of 2 boys.