96-Year-Old Ex-Auschwitz Guard Ruled Fit for Prison

Oskar Groening was convicted of being an accessory to murder
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 2, 2017 2:54 PM CDT
Prosecutors: Ex-Auschwitz Guard, 96, Fit for Prison
In this July 15, 2015 photo, SS sergeant Oskar Groening listens to the verdict of his trial at a court in Lueneburg, northern Germany.   (Axel Heimken)

German prosecutors say they consider a 96-year-old former Auschwitz death camp guard who was convicted as an accessory to murder fit to go to prison, the AP reports. Oskar Groening was convicted in July 2015 of being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 Jews and sentenced to four years in prison. In November, a federal court rejected his appeal.

Groening has remained free pending the appeal and a decision on his fitness for prison. On Wednesday, Kathrin Soefker, a spokesperson for prosecutors in Hannover, told news agency dpa they have rejected a defense application for a reprieve on serving the sentence. She said a doctor considers Groening fit to go to prison so long as there's appropriate medical care. There's been no formal summons yet for him to start serving his sentence. (More Auschwitz stories.)

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