Advertisement

Prison boss 'drove murderers to wedding'

The Local Austria
The Local Austria - [email protected]
Prison boss 'drove murderers to wedding'
Interior of an Austrian prison. Photo: APA/Hochmuth

The head of a juvenile prison at Gerasdorf in Lower Austria has been criticised for allowing two convicted murderers to leave the prison for a wedding, and accompanying them herself.

Advertisement

The prisoners - one was the groom and the other his witness - were allowed to go to Linz for the day where the groom married his fiancee.

They were driven in an ordinary Skoda Octavia car, sitting in the back seat with a prison guard. Prison boss Margitta E sat in the front, with another prison guard who drove the car.

The Heute tabloid reported that the car didn’t even have child safety locks in the back.

Some of Margitta’s colleagues reportedly criticised the lack of security, as well as the deployment of two prison guards when the prison is currently suffering from staff shortages.

Meanwhile, members of Austria’s prison guards union have been meeting to discuss the need for more staff and higher wages. Albin Simma, the chairman of the union, said there are also calls for structural changes.

Justice Minister Wolfgang Brandstetter has promised to increase the number of prison staff by 100, but the union says this is not enough and wants an additional 350 prison guards.

The union is threatening industrial action if its demands are not met.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also