German cannibal 'deserves life'

Armin Meiwes has confessed to killing his victim

German prosecutors say self-confessed cannibal Armin Meiwes should spend his life behind bars for killing and eating his 43-year-old victim.

Prosecutor Marcus Koehler, in his closing argument on Monday, said Mr Meiwes, 42, killed for sexual pleasure.

"He slaughtered his victim like a piece of livestock and treated him as an object of his fancy," he said.

Mr Meiwes has admitted killing and eating Bernd-Juergen Brandes, but says it was "killing on demand", not murder.

His defence lawyer Harald Ermel said it was a form of mercy killing - because Mr Brandes had given his consent to be killed and eaten.

That should carry a maximum five-year prison sentence, he said.

Global interest

The gruesome details of the trial have attracted interest from around the world.

When it opened, Mr Meiwes confessed in detail to the killing at his home in the town of Rotenberg.

Brandes "asked to be stabbed to death," according to Meiwes

He said Mr Brandes, who had travelled from Berlin after the two met on the internet, wanted to be stabbed to death after drinking a bottle of cold medicine to lose consciousness.

A doctor told the court that Mr Brandes died from loss of blood and that the medication, along with a half-bottle of alcohol and 20 sleeping pills he took beforehand, could not have lessened his pain.

Police tracked Mr Meiwes down in December 2002 after being alerted to an advertisement he had placed on the internet for a man willing to be killed, carved up and eaten.

Mr Koehler said Mr Meiwes was not interested in the needs or desires of his victim and that Mr Brandes' willingness to die had only provided the accused with an opportunity to carry out his long-held cannibal fantasy.

Mr Meiwes has admitted being sexually aroused by the process of preparing his victim.

Last week a second expert told the court that Mr Meiwes was "fully fit for trial and not mentally ill".

A verdict is expected on Friday.

Cannibalism is not a crime under the German constitution, but the crime of murder carries a minimum 15-year prison sentence.