Prisons to keep inmates longer

  • 2008-10-30
  • TBT Staff in cooperation with BNS
TALLINN - The Estonian parliament has given its approval to a bill that would allow prisons to keep inmates past their scheduled release date if it is believed they will continue to commit crimes after being freed.

Heili Sepp, departmental head at the Justice Ministry,has previously said the bill would offer the possibility to adjourn the release of habitual offenders after they have served their sentence if there are grounds to believe that the person will continue committing offenses.

The measure will be used only when a real danger exists that the person will commit new serious offenses after serving the sentence for a previous offense.

It could be applied to pedophiles, serial rapists,robbers and extortionists, for instance, Sepp said.