Justice - Proportion of older prisoners grows
The proportion of older prisoners is growing in prisons in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. At the end of November this year, the Thuringian Ministry of Justice counted 60 prisoners over the age of 60 - including those on remand and in preventive detention. This corresponded to 4.5 percent of the total number of prisoners (1333). Four years previously, there were 35 prisoners over the age of 60 at the end of November. These in turn accounted for 2.2 percent of the 1564 prisoners at the time.
Convicted under GDR criminal law
There is also one prisoner in Thuringia who was sentenced under GDR criminal law. The man was arrested in July 1990 and sentenced in April 1992 under the GDR penal code, according to the ministry.
According to the ministry, the everyday life of older inmates is not fundamentally different from that of younger prisoners. Prisoners who have reached the standard age limit for statutory pension insurance are not generally obliged to work in prison. If, following a medical examination, it is determined that older prisoners are fit for work, they can work in the same way as younger prisoners. For those who do not work, there are leisure and sports activities during regular working hours.
Older prisoners also receive support with physical restrictions, for example they are accommodated close to the medical service in the prisons.
Older prisoners may have to come to terms with the fact that they may die in custody, it was said. However, this is also the case for younger prisoners who are seriously ill.
Rising numbers in neighboring federal states
In the neighboring state of Saxony-Anhalt, a total of 1553 prisoners were housed on December 1, 60 of whom were over 60 years old, according to the Ministry of Justice in Magdeburg. This corresponds to 3.86 percent. In comparison, a total of 1705 prisoners were imprisoned on December 1, 2019, including 50 over the age of 60 - at that time, the proportion was 2.93 percent.
There is still one prisoner in Saxony-Anhalt who was sentenced before reunification on October 3, 1990. The man is serving a life sentence, according to the ministry.
There are still two men in prison in Saxony who were sentenced under GDR criminal law. They are imprisoned for murder as well as murder and sexual abuse, the Saxon Ministry of Justice announced.
Meanwhile, the proportion of older prisoners is also growing in Saxony. According to the figures, there were 124 prisoners aged 60 and over in the Saxon prison system on December 8. The prison in Waldheim (Mittelsachsen district) is the only correctional facility in Saxony to have a special senior citizens' ward with 54 places.
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- In addition to Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, the state of Thuringia also sees an increase in older prisoners, with 60 individuals over the age of 60 making up 4.5% of the total prison population.
- Interestingly, there is a single prisoner in Thuringia who was convicted under the GDR's criminal law, having been sentenced in April 1992.
- The ministry in Erfurt, Thuringia, mentioned that the daily life of older prisoners is generally not dissimilar from their younger counterparts, although those reaching retirement age are typically exempt from compulsory labor.
- The city of Magdeburg, in neighboring Saxony-Anhalt, houses 60 older prisoners, representing 3.86% of its total prison population, showing a similar trend to that observed in the GDR, Saxony, and Thuringia.
Source: www.stern.de
