The Penalty of Life Imprisonment The Killer His Crime and the Punishment - ebook

List of Abbreviations

1. Legal Acts

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CC Act of 6 June 1997 – The Criminal Code (consolidated text, Journal of Laws of 2016, item 1137, as amended)
CCP Act of 6 June 1997 – The Code of Criminal Procedure (consolidated text, Journal of Laws of 2017, item 1904, as amended)
EPC Act of 6 June 1997 – The Executive Penal Code (consolidated text, Journal of Laws of 2017, item 665, as amended)
The Convention Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms drawn up in Rome on 4 November 1950 (Journal of Laws of 1993, No. 61, item 284, as amended).
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2. Courts and Institutions

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AC The Court of Appeals
CE The Council of Europe
CPT European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
CT The Constitutional Tribunal
DC The District Court
ECtHR European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg
PC The Province Court
SC The Supreme Court
------- -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Journals

------------- -- ------------------------------------------------
AK Archiwum Kryminologii
KZS Krakowskie Zeszyty Sądowe
OSNKW Orzecznictwo Sądu Najwyższego – Izba Karna
PiP Państwo i Prawo
PPEiS Przegląd Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Społeczny
Prok. i Pr. Prokuratura i Prawo
RNS Rocznik Nauk Społecznych
ZO SN IK Zbiór Orzecznictwa Sądu Najwyższego Izba Karna
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4. Other

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p. page
pp. pages
No. number
Cf. compare
vol. volume
ed. editor
eds. editors
Art. Article
e.g. for example
i.e. that is
et. al. and others
TA temporary arrest
CER conditional early release
--------- -- ---------------------------The Penalty of Life Imprisonment in the Light of European Penitentiary Statistics

Beata Gruszczyńska1

Introduction

This article provides basic statistical data on prison populations in European countries. Attention was paid primarily to comparisons of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment.

European penitentiary statistics have been collected and developed in the Council of Europe since the early 1980s2. To this day the basic idea of the project is being continued, its tools are improved, but technical and substantive problems in data collection and unification are still present.

Penetrating into the history of penitentiary statistics on a European scale, it is worth recalling that statistics were initially published in the Prison Information Bulletin, later in the Penological Information Bulletin, and contained only data on prison populations. Since 1992 the format of the publication has been extended, the publication has been issued under the common title SPACE (acronym of a French title – Statistiques Pénales Annuelles du Conseil de l'Europe) and also included information on non-custodial penalties.

At the end of the 1990s, statistical data on isolating and non-isolating punishments were collected on the basis of separate statistical questionnaires and published in two reports SPACE I – for isolating punishments and SPACE II – for non-isolating penalties.

In the methodological assumption of the SPACE I, project penitentiary statistics are collected on a yearly basis, based on a specially developed questionnaire sent to the Prison administrations of individual member states of the Council of Europe. In addition to the figures, it is also important to convey the so-called metadata, i.e. any explanatory information concerning, inter alia, the differences in definitions, categories of statistical units, and other characteristics related to the specific nature of prison reporting in a given country. Council of Europe Annual Penalties Statistics SPACE I (Prison Population) reports are sometimes published even with a two-year delay resulting from inaccurate or incomplete transmission of national data3.

This paper uses data on prison populations published in SPACE I Yearbooks, primarily for 2015, and in some cases also for 2014 data. For a comparison of the dynamics of total imprisonment and lifetime imprisonment for the last 10 years, SPACE I data is also provided from the 2006 statistical survey4.

It should be emphasized that in the context of qualitative research on sentenced to life imprisonment, statistical data on prison populations may seem too abstract. However, their knowledge and proper use may be of relevance in the comparative analysis of criminal and prison policy – especially in their characteristics and evaluation – both historically and internationally.

At the same time, it is worth mentioning that international comparisons of both crime data and prison data have significant limitations resulting inter alia from differences in penal systems and policies, the method of defining statistical units, reporting principles, and reliability in the development of data and explanations sent to (in general terms) the SPACE project.

I. Prison map of Europe – basic statistical data

The basic SPACE I statistical information shows that in 2015 – as of 1 September – the number of prisoners (sentenced and temporarily detained together) was over 1.4 million, i.e. about 7% less than in 20145. In half of the countries taken into account the coefficients were less than 115, while the largest – almost 440 – was in Russia.

In general it can be said that the prison map of Europe has been very varied for years. This is due to a number of reasons that cannot be presented briefly, but it is worth noting that their nature also lies in criminal policy, including in the structure of the types of penalties for each type of crime and the dimensions of the absolute penalty of deprivation of liberty. In Poland, for example, theft is most often the reason for the penalty of deprivation of liberty with conditional suspension of its execution, while in most states, especially Western Europe, it is fines or community service6. In Poland detention sentences with conditional suspension are activated in about 40% of cases, resulting in a significant increase in the prison population7.

Taking into account the number of people imprisoned in relation to population in 2015, as in previous years, in most Central and Eastern European countries and in Eastern Europe the coefficients per 100 thousand are decidedly higher than in Western Europe. Of the EU Member States the highest coefficients were recorded in Lithuania (278), Latvia (223) and Estonia (210). In Poland the coefficient was 192 (in 2014 – 203). Among the countries with the highest ratios are Albania (207), Moldova (219), Turkey (220), Azerbaijan (250), Georgia (275), Ukraine (204 in 2014) and Russia (with a coefficient of 440).

In most Western European countries, the imprisonment coefficients did not exceed 150, and many of them were below 100 (Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Sweden; even less than 60 – Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Italy, Greece, France). Low coefficients were also reported in Slovenia (68) and Croatia (80). Data on absolute numbers and coefficients per 100 thousand inhabitants in 2014 and 2015 are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Populations imprisoned in Europe in 2014 and 2015 (source: SPACE I – Survey 2014, 20158)

State

Absolute numbers

Coefficients
per 100 thousand

2014

2015

2014

2015

Albania

5 440

5 981

187,8

207,2

Andorra

53

52

68,9

66,7

Armenia

3 979

3 888

131,9

129,7

Austria

8 857

9 037

104,1

103,9

Azerbaijan

22 579

24 197

238,2

249,3

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbian)

940

877

66,1

61,9

Belgium

13 212

12 841

117,9

113,7

Bulgaria

7 870

7 583

108,6

106

Croatia

3 763

3 341

88,6

79,7

Cyprus

681

654

79,4

77,1

Montenegro

1 058

1 100

170,2

176,8

Czech Republic

18 658

20 866

177,5

197,7

Denmark

3 583

3 203

63,7

56,1

Estonia

2 962

2 768

225,1

210,3

Finland

3 097

3 007

56,8

54,8

France9

77 739

65 544

101,0

98,3

FYR Macedonia

3 116

3 498

150,8

168,9

Greece

12 006

9 646

110,1

89,4

Georgia

10 233

10 242

227,9

274,6

Spain

65 931

64 017

141,7

137,9

Netherlands

9 857

9 002

58,6

53,0

Ireland

3 829

3 746

83,1

80,4

Iceland

154

no data

47,3

no data

Liechtenstein

8

8

21,5

21,3

Lithuania

8 977

8 022

305,0

277,7

Luxembourg

656

667

119,3

115,7

Latvia

4 809

4 399

240,3

223,4

Malta

1 369

no data

134,2

no data

Moldova

7 166

7813

201,3

219,9

Monaco

28

no data

74,1

no data

Germany

65 710

63 328

81,4

77,4

Norway

3 718

3 664

72,8

70,3

Poland**

77 371

73 062

203,5

192,2

Portugal

14 003

14 222

134,3

137,5

Russia

671 027

642 470

467,1

439,2

Romania

31 637

28 642

158,6

144,9

San Marino

4

2

12,3

6,1

Serbia

10 288

10 064

144,0

142,2

Slovakia

10 179

10 087

187,9

185,9

Slovenia

1 522

1 399

73,8

67,8

Switzerland

6 923

6 884

85,1

82,7

Sweden

5 861

5 770

60,8

58,6

Turkey

151 451

173 522

197,5

220,4

Ukraine

92 290

no data

204,0

no data

Hungary

18 270

17 773

185,0

180,8

Italy

54 252

52 389

89,3

86,4

UK England and Wales

85 509

86 193

149,7

148,3

UK Northern Ireland

1 860

1 690

101,3

91,5

UK Scotland

7 879

7 746

147,6

144,6

II. Women among those imprisoned in European countries

Among the total prisoners, women account for between one and just over ten percent, and in 2015 the median was about 5%, as in previous years. The absolute numbers of women and the corresponding proportion of prison population in total in 2014 and 2015 are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Women among prisoners in 2014 and 2015 (own elaboration)10

State

Absolute numbers

Share in the participation of prisoners in %

2014

2015

2014

2015

Albania

88

121

1.6

2.0

Andorra

10

11

18.9

21.2

Armenia

191

171

4.8

4.4

Austria

536

535

6.1

5.9

Azerbaijan

639

694

2.8

2.9

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbian)

17

14

1.8

1.6

Belgium

609

641

4.6

5.0

Bulgaria

259

240

3.3

3.2

Croatia

190

164

5.0

4.9

Cyprus

42

40

6.2

6.1

Montenegro

19

37

1.8

3.4

Czech Republic

1 170

1 433

6.3

6.9

Denmark

145

118

4.0

3.7

Estonia

157

145

5.3

5.2

Finland

248

228

8.0

7.6

France

2 838

2 098

3.7

3.2

FYRO Macedonia

102

112

3.3

3.2

Greece

578

518

4.8

5.4

Georgia

253

320

2.5

3.1

Spain

4 987

4 926

7.6

7.7

Netherlands

522

482

5.3

5.4

Ireland

146

127

3.8

3.4

Lithuania

385

320

4.3

4.0

Luxembourg

26

39

4.0

5.8

Latvia

337

340

7.0

7.7

Malta

35

no data

2.6

no data

Moldova

442

405

6.2

5.2

Germany

3 734

3 753

5.7

5.9

Norway

190

186

5.1

5.1

Poland*

2 527

2 554

3.3

3.5

Portugal

841

862

6.0

6.1

Russia

55 071

52 142

8.2

8.1

Romania

1 568

1 484

5.0

5.2

Serbia

332

366

3.2

3.6

Slovakia

678

649

6.7

6.4

Slovenia

89

81

5.8

5.8

Switzerland

328

375

4.7

5.4

Sweden

333

331

5.7

5.7

Turkey

5 476

6 289

3.6

3.6

Ukraine

4 964

no data

5.4

no data

Hungary

1 411

1 310

7.7

7.4

Italy

2 308

2 131

4.3

4.1

UK England and Wales

3 929

3 904

4.6

4.5

UK Northern Ireland

61

53

3.3

3.1

UK Scotland

425

408

5.4

5.3

Relatively high proportions of women are in prison in Finland, Latvia, Hungary, Spain and Russia, the lowest in Albania, Azerbaijan and Republika Srpska. At the same time it is worth pointing out that among the countries with large differences in population and thus imprisoned communities, the comparability of all measures is very limited.

Comparison of the map of imprisonment (per 100 000) with a map of crime intensification in European countries indicates a lack of co-occurrence (interdependence) of these measures. In many Central and Eastern European countries the crime rates are relatively low and the incarceration rates high (Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, the Czech Republic more than 200). In the Western European countries crime rates are high and imprisonment is low – around 100. In comparative analyses the size of the prison population on the basis of detailed data points to elements such as the structure of crime, but primarily as mentioned above, the structure of the types of punishments, and in particular the lengths of the penalty of deprivation of liberty for various crimes11. Cultural factors play an important role, inter alia the tendency to report offences to law enforcement agencies, as well as the criminal law tradition of adjudicating and applying non-custodial sentences, community service12.

III. Those sentenced to life imprisonment in European prisons

What does the number of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment look like? In 2014 there were nearly 1,700,000 prisoners in European prisons (1,678,295), of which about 27,000, i.e. more than 1.5% of convicts, were sentenced to life imprisonment (SPACE I data). A year later, among over 1.4 million imprisoned, also about 27 thousand were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The vast majority of convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment in England and Wales and Turkey. The highest proportion of this group of prisoners – in comparison to the entire prison population – was in Scotland (almost 13), then in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Greece and Ireland (over 8).

In turn, by referring the number of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment up to the population, the highest coefficients per 100 thousand were recorded in Scotland (19), England and Wales (over 13) and in Greece, Turkey and Northern Ireland (about 8).

On the basis of the data from 2015, it is known that in comparison to 2014, in most European countries the number of persons sentenced to life imprisonment slightly decreased (on average by 3%), but increased in 16 countries – in Turkey (by 414 persons), in Russia (by 44), in Poland (by 21), in Scotland (by 19), and in Hungary (by 18) – see Table 3.

The vast majority of convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment in England and Wales and in Turkey – in total they constituted almost half (over 46%) of the life sentenced prisoners in Europe. The next countries with the largest number of prisoners with such a sentence are Germany and Russia (over 1,800), followed by Italy and Ukraine (cf. Graph 1).

Graph 1. Offenders sentenced to life imprisonment in 2015 (source: SPACE I 2015 data; * Data as of 2014)

Taking into account the population of individual countries, the highest coefficients per 100 thousand inhabitants occur in Scotland – almost 19, England and Wales, Greece, Turkey, Northern Ireland and Ireland (7.4). Among Central and Eastern European countries, Lithuania, Ukraine and Estonia represent the highest values (ca. 4).

The smallest number of convicts (in relation to the population) are sentenced to life imprisonment in the Netherlands, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, Slovakia, Romania and Poland (below 1).

What has changed in the total of prison populations in the last decade? A comparison of statistics from 2006 and 2015 is presented in Table 3. 2015 data are incomplete, because France, Malta, Poland and Ukraine did not provide SPACE I with information on the number of persons sentenced for life imprisonment (data referring to Poland was taken from the Central Board of the Prison Service Annual Information). The table also includes 2014 data, allowing the comparison of yearly changes.

In the decade (2006–2015), the total number of prisoners serving life imprisonment increased significantly from less than 20,000 in 2006 and about one third more – 27,000 in 2015.

Table 3. Offenders sentenced to life imprisonment in the years: 2006, 2014 and 2015 (source: SPACE I – Survey 2014, 201513)

+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| State | 2006 | 2014 | 2015 | Index of dynamics |
| | | | | in 2006–2015 |
+======================+=========+=======+=========+===================+
| Albania | 108 | 155 | 155 | 143,5 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Armenia | 74 | 102 | 101 | 136,5 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Austria | 151 | 114 | 110 | 72,8 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Azerbaijan | 231 | 266 | 272 | 117,7 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Belgium | 237 | 211 | 214 | 90,3 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Bulgaria | 125 | 173 | 173 | 138,4 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Cyprus | 13 | 24 | 23 | 176,9 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Czech Republic | 32 | 48 | 48 | 150,0 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Denmark | 16 | 21 | 21 | 131,3 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Estonia | 33 | 40 | 41 | 124,2 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Finland | 128 | 209 | 203 | 158,6 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| France | 557 | 466 | no data | 85,314 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| FYRO Macedonia | 15 | 34 | 37 | 246,7 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Greece | 703 | 1017 | 958 | 136,3 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Georgia | 47 | 81 | 77 | 163,8 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Hungary | 230 | 297 | 315 | 137,0 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Italy | 1 235 | 1 599 | 1 611 | 130,4 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Netherlands | 17 | 32 | 32 | 188,2 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Ireland | 234 | 342 | 345 | 147,4 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Lithuania | 96 | 118 | 121 | 126,0 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Luxembourg | 17 | 12 | 12 | 70,6 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Latvia | 39 | 54 | 55 | 141,0 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Malta | 9 | 12 | no data | 133,314 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Moldova | 82 | 104 | 106 | 129,3 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Germany | 1 919 | 1 953 | 1 883 | 98,1 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Poland | 185 | 342 | 363 | 196,2 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Russia | 1 381 | 1 760 | 1 804 | 130,6 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Romania | 133 | 158 | 164 | 123,3 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Slovakia | 25 | 41 | 41 | 164,0 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Switzerland | no data | 38 | 36 | no data |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Sweden | 152 | 144 | 142 | 93,4 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Turkey | 1 915 | 6 687 | 7 101 | 370,8 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| Ukraine | 1 338 | 1 753 | no data | 131,014 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| UK England and Wales | 7 278 | 7 468 | 7 439 | 102,2 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| UK Northern Ireland | 144 | 160 | 164 | 113,9 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+
| UK Scotland | 666 | 1 010 | 1 029 | 154,5 |
+----------------------+---------+-------+---------+-------------------+

In the years 2006–2015, the number of offenders serving life imprisonment increased in most European countries. The highest increase, over three and a half times, took place in Turkey, over two and a half times in Macedonia, nearly twice in Poland and the Netherlands. The number of life prisoners increased about one and a half times in Latvia, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Scotland, and Finland. It decreased only in 5 countries: in Luxembourg and Austria (almost one third), and in Belgium, France and Sweden. In presenting the size and dynamics of the prison population of life prisoners, it should be emphasized that in nine European countries, i.e.: Andorra, Spain, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia and the former Yugoslav states: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia penal codes do not provide a penalty of life imprisonment. The highest custodial sentences in the abovementioned countries are as follows: 20 years – Slovenia; 21 years – Norway; 25 years – Andorra, Portugal; 30 years – Spain, Montenegro; 40 years – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia. It should be added that in Iceland no one has been sentenced to life imprisonment since 1940, and it has never been imposed in Liechtenstein15.

Conclusions

In summary, it can be said that the above data on prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment against general prisoners represent only general numerical comparative characteristics, which are subject to a large number of criminological issues concerning the crime rate, and penal and criminal policies, that require in-depth comparative research.

It should be emphasized at the same time that, in the era of intensive development of information systems (especially the growing presence of big data), “better” statistics, both at national and international level, can be expected. Statistical research shows that in many European countries, including Poland, the quality of reporting, although involving many people and technical means, still leaves a lot of confusion and there is no precision in the description of the phenomenon or data to help this.

1 Beata Gruszczyńska – Warsaw University Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Policy, University of Warsaw.

2 The listing and reporting of prison data was set up by a group of experts at the Council of Europe and was initiated by Pierre V. Tournier (now Director of CNRS), who led the project until 2001. Since 2002, the project has been led by Marcelo F. Aebi.

3 European penitentiary data are available (independently of the publication of Yearbooks) at http://wp.unil.ch/space/.

4 No statistical information was provided from France, Malta, Iceland, Ukraine and Poland. Data on Bosnia and Herzegovina and Spain are incomplete. Data concerning Poland were taken from the Statistical Information of the Central Board of the Prison Service (Centralny Zarząd Służby Więziennej), and data on France – from the preliminary report as of 1 January 2015.

5 SPACE I covers all member states of the Council of Europe and is transmitted by 52 prison administrations, including the United Kingdom (separately for England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland), Bosnia and Herzegovina ( covering both the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska), Spain (issued by the State Administration and Catalonia).

6 Cf. M.F. Aebi at al., European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics 2014, HEUNI, 2014.

7 Cf. B. Gruszczyńska, Geografia prizonizacji w Europie. Polska na tle krajów Unii Europejskiej T. Bulenda, A. Rzepliński (ed.), Modernizowanie więziennictwa. V Kongres penitencjarny, Warsaw 2015, pp. 535–551.

8 According to the SPACE I methodological approach, the basic data on prison populations should reflect the situation as of 1 September of a given year. Not all countries provide data according to the set deadline, e.g. Germany as of 31 March 31; France, Latvia, Sweden as of 1 October; England and Wales as of 30June; Lithuania as of 1 July; Georgia as of 31 August 31; Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland and Portugal as of 31December. This last date is particularly incorrect due to the significantly reduced number of imprisoned with even the average of the remaining months. In Poland, for example, the prison population at the end of December 2015 was 70,836 and was by far the smallest in comparison to other months.

9 France: in 2015 the state as of 1 January; Poland: as of 31 August 2015 (based on Central Board of the Prison Service Information).

10 The table does not include Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino due to too small values.

11 B. Gruszczyńska, M. Gruszczyński, Prison Population and Crime rates – How Poland Differs from Other EU Countries, A. Kuhn at al. (ed.), Criminology, Criminal Policy and Criminal Law in an International Perspective, Switzerland 2013, pp. 563–571.

12 M.F. Aebi, C. Burkhardt, J. Chopin, M.M. Tiago, International Comparisons of Prison Statistics: Key Facts and Figures of the SPACE 2014 Report and Trends from 2005 to 2014, D. Kolarić (ed.), International Scientific Conference “Archibald Reiss Days” 2016 (pp. 319–329). Belgrade 2016.

13M.F. Aebi, N. Delgrande, Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics – SPACE I – 2006, PC-CP (2007) 9 rev2; M.F. Aebi, M. Tiago, C. Burkhardt, Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics SPACE I – Prison Populations, Survey 2014PCOCP (2015)7; idem, Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics SPACE I – Prison Populations, Survey 2015 PC-CP (2016) 6.

14 In France, Malta and Ukraine the index is for 2006–2014 due to the lack of data from 2015.

15 CPT (2008) 26, Short Overview On Life Sentences, Council of Europe 2008.