Life sentence convicts can currently apply for parole after 12 years, while criminals serving 20 years in prison can after 13 years.
Over recent years, politicians have tightened penalties for gang crime, and this has led to a distortion, so that life sentences are no longer in practice society’s harshest punishment.
A broad majority in the Danish Parliament will rectify this in a new political agreement reached on Wednesday. This will be done by raising the limit for the earliest parole period for life-sentenced prisoners from 12 years to 20 years.
“We don’t want ‘Amagerman’ or ‘Raket-Madsen’ or any of the others running around the streets and alleys until it is completely safe.”
“In my opinion, they should sit there for the rest of their lives, now that they have been sentenced to life, and we are helping to ensure that with this element, among other things,” says Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard (S).
Specifically, gang crime can trigger double punishment, whereby a gang member can receive 20 years in prison for, for example, a severe drug conviction.
Gang members can be paroled at the earliest after a little more than 13 years, as it is only possible after two-thirds of the sentence has been served.
Hummelgaard emphasizes that it is, among others, the Conservatives who have included it in the negotiations.
“People are horrified because it is far too short a time, and there have been examples of lifers who are released on parole after 12 years and commit new crimes,” says justice spokesperson Mai Mercado (K).
She believes that it will bring order to things by ending the fact that a life sentence can no longer be released on parole earlier than a gang member sentenced to 20 years in prison.
“The fact that we are now tightening up and making life imprisonment the country’s harshest sentence is of great importance,” says Mai Mercardo.
The Danish Democrats’ legal spokesperson, Betina Kastbjerg, believes that the tougher gang punishments risked diluting life sentences.
“You can get 20 years for gang crime, but if you’ve killed someone, you can apply for parole after 12 years. We’re really happy to raise it to 20 years, so it’s life again, which is the strictest sentence,” she says.
The Danish People’s Party would have liked to have gone further, but is satisfied.
“We went into the negotiations with a desire that the most serious cases of life sentences should be without the possibility of parole. We are really happy to be pulling the agreement in the right direction, so that you can first seek 20 years instead of 12 years,” says DF legal spokesperson Mette Thiesen.
ritzau
