Grace for the feast - Christmas amnesty for over 670 prisoners
More than 670 prisoners in Germany have been released early so that they can celebrate Christmas at home. This was the result of a survey conducted by the German Press Agency among the justice ministries of the federal states. This time, however, far fewer are likely to benefit from the so-called Christmas amnesty. Several federal states reported a lower number of released prisoners than a year ago.
Prisoners who would have been released around the turn of the year anyway will benefit from the Christmas amnesty. However, there are also prisoners who refuse to be released early and prefer to spend Christmas in prison. According to the Ministry of Justice in Hanover, four prisoners in Lower Saxony, for example, opted out.
As in the previous year, the largest number of prisoners released was in Baden-Württemberg. Around 200 men and women were allowed to leave prison early in mid-November.
This is the distribution in selected states: In Hesse, at least 93 prisoners will be released early. There are 77 prisoners in Rhineland-Palatinate, 31 in Schleswig-Holstein, 29 in Brandenburg and 31 in Hamburg. 90 prisoners will be released in Berlin - according to the Berlin Senate of Justice, the final results of the Christmas amnesty will not be available until the beginning of 2024.
Prisoners in Saxony can still hope to be released
Prisoners in Saxony can also still hope: The responsible ministry in Dresden announced that the gates could open earlier than expected for more prisoners by Christmas Eve. Since mid-November, 19 adults have been released early.
Information on the Christmas amnesty was available from most of the federal states. As a matter of principle, Bavaria never grants amnesties at the end of the year, while Thuringia does not intend to publish figures until the new year. North Rhine-Westphalia has also not yet presented any statistics. Last year, more than 1000 people were released early nationwide.
The Christmas amnesty has another purpose: "Early release at Christmas is intended to facilitate reintegration into society," said Baden-Württemberg's Justice Minister Marion Gentges (CDU).
Hesse's Minister of Justice Roman Poseck (CDU) said: "In addition, prisoners should be given the opportunity to take advantage of support services and visit counseling centers as well as deal with authorities before they cannot be reached at all or hardly at all due to the holidays."
The conditions are strict: only prisoners who have not attracted negative attention in prison and who have not served a long prison sentence are eligible. Prisoners who have now been released early usually served time for theft, drug offenses or insults, for example.
Read also:
- Snow chaos further restricts Bavaria
- Unanimous decision: faster wolf culls possible
- The year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Snow and ice paralyze southern Germany
Source: www.stern.de
