Right-wing party Dansk Folkeparti has proposed a new law that would mean that anyone in Denmark sentenced to life in prison would never be released again.
DF called it unacceptable that murderers given life sentences are released from prison. DF’s judicial spokesperson, Peter Kofod Poulsen, cited the risk of them reoffending and the sense of justice for the victims as two major reasons.
“Then life isn’t life. If you are planning to commit a violent and malevolent crime like murder, then you shouldn’t be able to just check out of prison again,” Poulsen told DR Nyheder.
“I think the next-of-kin to a murder victim would find some kind of solace in a justice system in which the murderer isn’t let out again with a risk of committing a new crime. And another good thing is that the murderer won’t be able to do it again.”
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Life is life
A new report from the prison and probation services, Kriminalforsorgen, revealed that the 20 people who served life sentences in Denmark over the past three decades spent an average 17 years behind bars.
Poulsen estimated that the new law would mean that murderers would serve 30-40 years.
Poulsen, who maintained that DF was totally against the death penalty being used, said he would propose the new law to Parliament later this year.
