Justice - Two prisoners on the run: Country tightens regulations
Following two successful escape attempts by inmates during so-called executions, the guidelines for prisons have been tightened for stays outside of prison. The state has formulated a corresponding decree for stricter handling, Justice Minister Marion Gentges (CDU) told SWR on Friday evening. Prisoners are allowed to leave the prison for a few hours if they are accompanied.
Until now, the prisons had largely decided on details on their own responsibility, a spokesperson confirmed on request. This will change with immediate effect. In future, prisoners will only be informed shortly before being taken to court or to the doctor, for example, in order to prevent any arrangements being made. No specific locations would be specified as destinations and large crowds such as Christmas markets would have to be avoided.
The two cases had provoked sharp criticism, particularly from the opposition parties. The FDP had called for a reform of the implementation practice.
There is still no trace of an escaped 25-year-old prisoner from the Mannheim correctional facility (JVA). On Thursday, the man had used a doctor's appointment at the hospital in the neighboring city of Ludwigshafen to escape. According to the police, a second man on a scooter had been waiting at the hospital during the appointment. The masked man had threatened the judicial officers with a pistol and shot into the air. The prisoner, who was handcuffed, jumped onto the scooter and both fled together. In October 2022, the man was sentenced to seven years in prison by the Mannheim Regional Court for particularly serious robbery and extortion.
This is the second escape of a prisoner from Baden-Württemberg in Rhineland-Palatinate in just a few weeks. A prisoner at Bruchsal Prison had escaped on October 30 during a guarded excursion to a quarry pond in Germersheim, using a tool to break his shackle. He had been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Karlsruhe Regional Court in 2012 for strangling a man. The man is still on the run.
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- The tightened regulations aim to prevent future escape attempts in the penal system, as highlighted by Justice Minister Marion Gentges from the Ministry of Justice in Stuttgart.
- The SWR reported that prison visits, such as court appearances or doctor's appointments, will now be handled more strictly, with shorter notice periods to hinder potential escape plans.
- Marion Gentges from the CDU, the ruling party in Baden-Württemberg, condemned the recent prison escapes and vowed to address criminality within the correctional facility system.
- Over in Rhineland-Palatinate, another prisoner from the Mannheim correctional facility is still at large after an execution-style escape involving a gun and an accomplice.
- The first escape occurred in Bruchsal Prison, where a convicted murderer successfully escaped during a guarded excursion to a quarry pond.
- With stricter regulations now in place, the execution of prisoners outside of correctional facilities is expected to become a more secure process, reducing the risk of future escape attempts.
- The tightened regulations and increased focus on security in the penal system will likely impact men sentenced to serve time in correctional facilities throughout Germany, including in states like Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg.
Source: www.stern.de
