Tomasz Komenda was sentenced in 2003 to 15 years in prison for the rape and murder of a teenager. The Court of Appeal raised the sentence to 25 years, and the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal in 2005. After 18 years in prison, Komenda was cleared by the Supreme Court of all charges as a result of the renewed investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The proceedings before the SN took place behind closed doors. Instead, the decision was announced publicly. He was listened to by many media and audience members. The case has been widely echoed in society. According to the results of a survey published in March 2018 by Virtual Poland, 89% of Poles heard about the case of Tomasz Komenda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the publicity of a hearing may be limited in certain exceptional cases as defined by the Constitution, the court's decision must always be made public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The case of Tomasz Komenda raised a widespread awareness of the shortcomings of the criminal justice system in Poland and the dangers of hasty attribution of guilt to the suspect by both the media, the public and the procedural authorities. Greater public participation in hearings may reduce the risk of such court confusion in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n