A man sexually assaults women, many women. He is imprisoned and escapes – more than half a dozen times. One day he gets in touch with our author
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There was a letter at the beginning of this story. He sent it to my home address; That was at a time when I was still listed in the digital phone book. The sender was: Markus W., Ziegeleiweg 13, Lenzburg.
One of the largest prisons in Switzerland is located on Ziegeleiweg in Lenzburg.
Markus W. asked me to write an article about him. He had been in prison for many years and was expected to remain in prison for a long time to come. Although he had already served his prison sentence, to protect the public he remained locked up indefinitely as a precautionary measure: the judges had sentenced Markus W. to subsequent preventive detention. The reason: He had raped women. Many women.
Nevertheless, Markus W. was convinced, he assured me in his well-worded lines, that preventive detention was no longer justified in his case. He could prove that and he has proven it: He had been on the run for a long time and had not committed any wrongdoing during this time – a psychiatric report also confirmed that he was no longer dangerous and not at risk of relapse. He is being unfairly imprisoned. That’s why I should report about him.
It’s not about the question of my judgment regarding detention, wrote Markus W. Rather, I’m concerned about how those responsible, law enforcement authorities, experts, therapists and prisons deal with it. I would like to show how much arbitrariness lies behind this “factory” of punishment, always under the guise of “for the safety of the public”.
He would really like to talk to me about visiting him sometime.
Then I did that too.