Grace for the celebration
Christmas amnesty for 1000 prisoners
Several hundred prisoners in Germany will be released early from prison before Christmas. photo
© Jan Woitas/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
It’s almost a tradition: In the weeks before Christmas, prisoners are released earlier. The so-called Christmas amnesty gives the prisoners valuable time.
Around 1,000 prisoners in Germany are released early and can celebrate Christmas at home. This was the result of a survey by the German Press Agency among the state ministries of justice. This time, however, fewer of the so-called Benefit from the Christmas amnesty. Several federal states reported a lower number of released people than a year ago.
Inmates who would be released around the turn of the year anyway can benefit from the Christmas amnesty. However, there are also prisoners who refuse early release and prefer to spend Christmas in prison. For example, in Lower Saxony, according to the Ministry of Justice in Hanover, four prisoners gave up.
The largest number of released people is in North Rhine-Westphalia. The Christmas amnesty there gave 322 prisoners early freedom this year. The NRW Ministry of Justice in Düsseldorf reported this in response to a dpa request, but there could still be changes. Last year there were 291 prisoners who benefited from the pre-Christmas leniency of the judiciary.
This is how it is distributed in selected countries: In Baden-Württemberg, around 200 men and women were allowed to leave prison early in mid-November. In Hesse, at least 93 prisoners are being released early. In Rhineland-Palatinate there are 77 prisoners, in Schleswig-Holstein 31, in Brandenburg there are 29, in Hamburg 31. In Berlin, 90 prisoners are released – the final balance on the clemency, as the Christmas amnesty is correctly called, is yet to be published, according to the Berlin Justice Senate Administration early 2024.
Prisoners in Saxony can still hope for release
Prisoners in Saxony also still have hope: the responsible ministry in Dresden announced that the gates could open to more prisoners earlier than expected by Christmas Eve. Since mid-November, 19 adults have been released early.
Information on the Christmas amnesty was available from most federal states. In principle, Bavaria never pardons at the end of the year, Thuringia does not want to publish figures until the new year. Last year, more than 1,000 people were released early nationwide.
The Christmas amnesty has another idea: “Early release on the occasion of Christmas is intended to make reintegration into society easier,” said Baden-Württemberg Justice Minister Marion Gentges (CDU).
Hesse’s Justice Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) said: “The prisoners should also be given the opportunity to take advantage of offers of help and to visit advice centers and to deal with authorities before they can hardly or not be reached at all because of the holidays.”
The requirements are strict: only prisoners who have not had a negative impact in prison and who have not had to serve a long prison sentence are eligible. The prisoners who were now released early were usually imprisoned for, for example, theft or drug offenses or insults.