I am particularly pleased to be taking part in a panel discussion in Vienna on April 12, 2024 on the topic of "Getting out of prison." This professional debate promises to raise profound questions about freedom, justice and reintegration. I am incredibly excited to have this discussion with other experts. Stay tuned for my impressions and insights, which I will share with you after the event.
Prison was a further development of corporal punishments, which even went as far as the death penalty. Today, the goal of imprisonment is to rehabilitate people. The recidivism rate of released prisoners and their difficulties in finding their feet in society after their imprisonment, as well as reports from prisons about a lack of specialist staff and inadequate accommodation, indicate that this goal is not achieved by prison.
Are prisons the right means to achieve long-term reconciliation between perpetrators and victims on an individual level, where "punishment" is not the guiding principle? What alternatives are there to punishment and prison to respond as a society to injustice that has occurred? Where do the needs of the victims come first, or also prevention? How can alternative paths such as restorative justice help to empty the prisons? And finally: What do we do with people who are unable to find their way in society in the long term?
Panel discussion with:
Markus Fellinger , theologian, spokesman for the Protestant prison chaplaincy
Thomas Galli , lawyer, former prison director
Daniela Hirt , social worker, restorative justice practitioner
Nicole Lieger , political scientist, representative of restorative justice
Moderation: Nina Horaczek , journalist and publicist
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