Hundreds of prisoners are released early
The German justice ministries are showing mercy, at least a little. Hundreds of prisoners are released early and allowed to celebrate Christmas at home. However, the amnesty has its limits - and last year was more merciful.
More than 670 prisoners in Germany are released early and can celebrate Christmas at home. This time, however, far fewer are likely to benefit from the so-called Christmas amnesty. Several federal states reported a lower number of prisoners released than a year ago. Prisoners who would have been released around the turn of the year anyway 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 balance for the Christmas amnesty will not be available until the beginning of 2024.
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.
More than 1000 releases in 2022
Last year, more than 1,000 people were released early across Germany. The Christmas amnesty has another purpose: "Early release at Christmas is intended to facilitate reintegration into society," said Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Justice Marion Gentges from the CDU party.
Hesse's Minister of Justice Roman Poseck, also of the CDU, said: "In addition, prisoners should be given the opportunity to take advantage of support services, visit counseling centers and 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:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
Despite the lower number of releases this year, over 670 prisoners in Germany still celebrate Christmas at home due to the early release program. Various federal states, such as Baden-Württemberg and Hesse, have released the largest number of prisoners for Christmas, following the tradition of promoting reintegration and offering support services.
Source: www.ntv.de
