Zurich justice director criticizes herself in the Brian case
Published: Thursday, Nov 16th 2023, 06:11
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Zurich's Director of Justice Jacqueline Fehr has practiced self-criticism in the Brian Keller case: "Looking back, I probably watched too long and allowed myself to be placated for too long."
In an interview with the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" published on Thursday, Fehr said that she does not blame anyone for this. "I bear the responsibility."
However, Fehr defended the prison's approach to Brian. "What should you do with a violent inmate if he doesn't cooperate? No one has been able to tell the wardens that yet," said the Director of Justice of the Canton of Zurich. "That has led to this difficult situation. One thing is clear: it must never come to this again."
Fehr: "We have a record low recidivism rate"
The prison system cannot rectify past experiences, said Fehr. If a prisoner is unruly due to past experiences, it is not possible for the prison system to eradicate this reality. Employees also have a right to physical integrity. "I'm not saying that there were no mistakes," says Fehr. "But I am convinced that the vast majority of people who had professional dealings with Brian Keller wanted the best for him."
Fehr believes that the Brian case unfairly casts Zurich's prison system in a negative light: "We have a record-low recidivism rate, we have a good prison climate, we only take up 1.9 percent of the cantonal budget," she said. "The Brian Keller case is an exception."
Idea of specialized facilities for exceptional cases
The Zurich Director of Justice brought up the idea of small, specialized facilities for the whole of Switzerland that could deal with any exceptional cases. "Tailor-made prison settings are only possible to a limited extent in large institutions."
28-year-old Brian was released from preventive detention in Zurich prison on Friday. Until then, he had been in prison for years for numerous offenses. He became known to the general public after a Swiss television documentary in 2013, at that time still under the name "Carlos".
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