This is the obsession of police unions and the shocking question of political leaders: how can a person come out free from a court which has just sentenced him to a prison sentence? The question will not fail to resurface on the occasion of the States General of Justice that Emmanuel Macron was to launch on Monday, October 18 in Poitiers. The answer is complicated, which explains the incomprehension of public opinion and the ease with which some seize it for controversial ends.
There are good reasons for this reality, and not so good. Even the magistrates responsible for the execution or the application of sentences say it, it has sometimes become such a gas factory that the meaning of the sentence can be lost. The subject concerns the shortest sentences, from a few months to two years. The warrant of committal at the hearing which takes the person to prison without the possibility of going home to hug his family is in principle the exception in corrections. This is supposed to apply to those whose release would cause a serious disturbance to public order.
Reintegration and recidivism
It is first of all in the name of the right to appeal that the execution of the sentence is not immediate. Imprisoning a person who can be acquitted on appeal or sentenced to another sanction would not be fair.
Then the principle of individualization of the sentence applies. The correctional court orders a sentence according to the nature of the offense, the criminal record and the behavior of the individual (if he recognizes his responsibility, if he expresses regrets, etc.), rarely according to the course of life ( ongoing training, employment, family situation, etc.). The sentence can then be adjusted later, for example in the form of home detention under electronic surveillance for a person with a stable job and support from his family. The exit times with his bracelet will be established according to his work.
A young person without training may have his sentence adjusted in the form of community service. Note that the average length of prison stays for convicts in 2019 was 10.7 months, which wreaks havoc on the idea that all short sentences would be adjusted.
“A development is an execution of punishment and it is much more demanding in terms of constraints than to go around in circles in a courtyard, explains Ivan Guitz, judge of the application of sentences at the court of Bobigny and president of the national association bringing together these specialized magistrates. It is decided according to the evolution of the person, our goal is to work on reintegration and thus to limit the risk of recurrence. “
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