Councils want to be able to imprison young murderers
Published: Wednesday, Feb 28th 2024, 19:30
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Anyone who has committed murder as a juvenile can be detained in Switzerland in future as a last resort. And those in closed custody will no longer be allowed to go on vacation unaccompanied.
After the Council of States, the National Council also approved the corresponding amendments to the Juvenile Penal Code and the Criminal Code on Wednesday, in each case against the wishes of the SP and the Greens. Both bills had been ordered by Parliament.
No prospects for the future
Juvenile criminal law today focuses on educational and therapeutic measures, has proven its worth and offers hope for reintegration, said Florence Brenzikofer (Greens/BL). Custody was not suitable for young offenders.
Raphaël Mahaim (Greens/VD) added that because the brains of under 25-year-olds are still developing, it is hardly possible, if at all, to predict their future dangerousness. Anyone who is detained as a young person has no prospects for the future. Such a measure is inhumane, said Christian Dandrès (SP/GE).
"No matter how old someone is, it's not a trivial matter, it's murder," disagreed Patricia von Falkenstein (LDP/BS). Protecting society from dangerous perpetrators takes precedence over protecting the perpetrators, said Philipp Matthias Bregy (Center/VS). "Custody is the very last and most severe measure."
"Few tragic individual cases"
"You are obviously not standing up for the victims, but for the perpetrators," Mauro Tuena (SVP/ZH) reproached the opposing side. Patrick Hässig (GLP/ZH) added that juvenile criminal law stipulates release after the 25th birthday, regardless of dangerousness. "We are talking about a few, very tragic individual cases."
Young people who have committed murder as minors after their 16th birthday should be able to be detained. They must be at serious risk of committing another such offense after the juvenile penal sanction. The Juvenile Penal Code does not currently provide for a purely security measure to protect third parties.
This means that it is not 16- or 17-year-olds who should be imprisoned, but young murderers who have reached the age of 18 following a juvenile sentence. According to the Federal Council, twelve young people were convicted of murder in Switzerland between 2010 and 2020. Custody would only have affected some of them.
The SVP wanted to extend the possibility of detention for young offenders, but was defeated. It wanted to allow detention not only for murderers, but also for intentional homicide, grievous bodily harm and rape.
The National Council has approved the proposal of its Legal Affairs Committee to increase the possible custodial sentence for murderers aged 16 and over from four to six years. At the same time, the National Council decided that a sentence of at least four years' imprisonment would be a prerequisite for a reservation of custody.
No more unaccompanied vacations
The Council was also concerned with those in custody under adult criminal law. Like the Council of States, it decided that those in closed detention and those serving a custodial sentence prior to detention may only go on vacation accompanied by security staff. However, unaccompanied vacations are possible in open prisons.
At the request of the SVP and the Center Party, the National Council extended the conditions for detention. These should also be imposed on people who have committed murder, premeditated murder or rape for the second time.
A repeat offense justifies this protection from the most dangerous perpetrators, said Philipp Matthias Bregy (centre/VS) on behalf of the minority. The motion was narrowly adopted by 93 votes to 91, with two abstentions.
The proposal to provide for the annual review of the detention of offenders only every three years if the conditional release has previously been rejected three times in a row is controversial. The National Council and the Federal Council would like to take this approach, while the Council of States would like to maintain the annual review.
The bill will now go back to the Council of States.
©Keystone/SDA
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