A man who had been sentenced to prison was refused to start his sentence – because the institution was full, reports Today’s Law.
In a new decision, the Ombudsman for Justice (JO) criticizes the institution and states that high occupancy or overcrowding does not give the Correctional Service the right to refuse a convicted person.
A man sentenced to prison was scheduled to begin his sentence at Asptunaanstalten last September. But at the institution, the staff had been told by the director of the institution that they could not receive more people due to a lack of space, writes Today’s Law.
When the convicted man called the institution to announce his planned arrival, he was therefore told that he could not appear there. Instead, he was asked to turn to another institution.
He was forced to wait until the following day to appear and begin his sentence.
The incident was reported
The incident was reported to the Judicial Ombudsman (JO), who then began an examination of the situation. The man then stated that he had been refused due to the location situation. He should also have been asked to turn to another detention center, the newspaper writes.
But the day after the incident, a correctional inspector discovered that a misunderstanding had occurred as the man’s attitude had not been discussed between the head of the facility and the officer working that day.
In a new decision, the JO establishes that high occupancy or overcrowding of an institution does not give the Correctional Service the right to deny a convicted person the start of his sentence. JO also criticizes Asptunaanstalten for not having received the man because they have thus not fulfilled their obligation as a penitentiary, reports the newspaper.