““The possibility of imposing a life sentence is an inhumane punishment that should not exist in any civilized country,” Deputy Justice Minister Maria Ejchart said during a panel discussion at the Poland of the Future Campus. “Smiling justice will set criminals, sadistic serial rapists and child murderers free, because life imprisonment is ‘inhumane’,” commented Marcin Warchoł, MP for Sovereign Poland.
Many ministers and deputy ministers from Donald Tusk’s government, as well as members of the current majority in parliament, attended the Poland of the Future Campus, which – as Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski swears – is a non-partisan event. The panel “Women in Prison” was attended by Deputy Justice Minister Maria Ejchart (the same one who spoke about the hunger strike of former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration Mariusz Kamiński in protest against his detention, that “everyone has the right not to eat or drink”), together with the actress from the series “Skazana”, Marta Malikowska. While Malikowska spoke mainly about her feelings and reflections, in Ejchart’s case the issues mainly concerned the prison system and what should be changed in it.
Ziobro introduced… very severe penalties?
The Deputy Minister of Justice has repeatedly stated that the prison system is outdated and does not fulfill its “educational” role, motivating inmates to change their lives, and what’s more – that prisons are overcrowded because courts rarely decide on solutions such as police supervision. Some of the minister’s statements seemed quite interesting.
In the last 8 years, the United Right government has introduced a lot of evil into prison. The prison sentence ends up being much harsher than 8 years previously. It is about penal policy and how the State punishes, what penalty is imposed for each crime, but also how this punishment is applied. The aim of the United Right government, headed by Minister Ziobro, was for the punishment to be severe.. We know the quote that “a prison is not a sanatorium, a prison is not a hotel”. For example, there were no conditional early releases. The possibility, which is theoretically provided for by law, was actually blocked. There was no conditional release, the sentence was served from the first to the last day. Now I have managed to unlock this option. (…) We have unlocked passes, unlocked breaks in punishment, all those “rewards” that a prisoner can get.
– said Ejchart.
It is indeed “shocking” that the punishment is severe, especially for the most serious crimes, because it is easy to guess that the previous government did not want harsher penalties for stealing a chocolate bar from a store.
It was even more interesting when we asked questions. One of the Campus participants asked about mandatory life sentences (i.e. life imprisonment without the possibility of early release).
This provision has been changed in the draft that is already underway. The Criminal Law Codification Commission has prepared such a corrective draft.
– said Maria Ejchart.
The possibility of imposing a life sentence is an inhumane punishment that should not exist in any civilized country.
– she added.
Punishment must give hope, all possible European courts have said on this subject, hope must be a motivation
– she emphasized.
Braggart: Smiling justice will set criminals free
Maria Ejchart’s statement was commented on by Prof. Marcin Warchoł, former Minister of Justice. In his entry on the platform
A smiling justice system will free criminals, sadistic serial rapists and child murderers, because life imprisonment is “inhumane”. Deputy Minister Maria Ejchart believes that punishment should give the beasts… hope and motivation
– wrote the politician on X.
aja/X, YT: Campus Polska Przyszłości
