If you don’t pay a fine, you don’t have to spend as long in prison as before. The Bundestag halved the duration of the so-called replacement prison sentences on Thursday. “A substitute imprisonment affects a person’s life much more than a fine,” said FDP MP Philipp Hartewig, explaining the reform, which parliament passed with the votes of the coalition factions SPD, Greens and FDP. The CDU/CSU and the left abstained, the AfD voted against the draft law.
In the case of unpaid fines, the sum is usually served in prison. The number of days that the person concerned spends behind bars for this previously corresponded to the daily rates to which he was sentenced. Due to the halving that has now been decided, however, a sentence of 50 daily rates only threatens 25 days in prison. In addition, those affected must in future be expressly informed of the possibility that they can also do social work for the benefit of the general public as an alternative to imprisonment.
The left had called for the replacement prison sentence to be abolished altogether
Against this background, Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) spoke of a historic reform: “We are making it more tangible for those affected by alternative prison sentences to avert the execution of a prison sentence, for example by doing community service.” The left had called for the instrument of substitute imprisonment to be completely abolished. However, the federal government rejects this on the grounds that this would fundamentally call into question the “effective enforcement of the state’s right to punishment” in the case of fines.
The amendment also tightens the conditions under which drug- or alcohol-dependent offenders can serve their detention in a rehab facility or psychiatric hospital instead of in prison. According to government information, the number of prisoners housed in such a facility had risen significantly in recent years, leading to massive overcrowding in many places. In addition, the catalog of motives that can result in aggravated sentences will be expanded to include gender-specific and anti-queer motives. “With the measures decided today, we are strengthening rehabilitation and prevention and at the same time relieving the state and its institutions,” explained Buschmann.