Mór Murderers Get Less Punishment

The most high-profile murder trial in recent Hungarian history has come to an end, at least for the time being. The three defendants in the infamous Mór bank robbery, which ended in the cold-blooded murder of eight bystanders, have been convicted on a range of different counts relating to the May 9, 2002 holdup. The principal defendant, Ede Kaiser (left) received a life sentence, while his accomplice László Hajdú (right) was sentenced to 15 years behind bars. While this might sound like a clear-cut example of justice at work, both the police and court officials admit they aren't sure what happed on that horrible day in the town an hour west of Budapest.

One question is whether the robbery was planned as a simple stick-up, or something else, and who exactly is to blame for the murder of the eight witnesses; only two of the shots fired were clearly Kaiser's doing. The missing pieces in the puzzle were so big prosecutors were apparently forced to rely on information from the third defendant, Attila Kiglics, who got off with just three years in the slam for squealing on his partners in crime.

What seems beyond doubt is that Kaiser was the main architect of the raid, having planned details of the robbery months earlier, while Hajdú supplied the gun.

Almost as certain is how little time the three convicts will likely do, in comparison to the years they stole from their victims. Assuming that Kaiser lives to a ripe old age in jail and Hajdú and Kiglics serve out their sentences, their cumulative punishment will probably still work out to less than 10 years of jail time per murder. But this may be assuming too much, as the verdicts in the case are open to appeal, and few such sentences in Hungary are served in full. We won't say this proves that violent crime in Hungary pays, but it sure makes us wonder whether it costs enough.