Prisoner stayed away for five years – escapes his sentence

The man was sentenced in 2019 by the Falu district court to one month in prison for violent resistance and violence against an official after, among other things, injuring a security guard at a tavern in Falun. He was released after the verdict and has not been found since.

When the judgment has not been able to be enforced for five years, the penalty, i.e. the prison sentence, is time-barred.

Around 100 similar cases per year

The Correctional Service annually has about 100 such statute of limitations cases where the convicted have not served their sentences.

– There are still too many people, but in relation to how many are sentenced, it is a few, says Geska Mark who is group manager at the placement section at the Correctional Service.

– When a person does not turn up, we send a request to the police that remains until the person is found and can be taken to custody or an institution to start enforcement of the sentence, she says.

Among the sentences that are time-barred, the most common sentence is 1-2 months in prison and usually refers to drunken driving offences.

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