Christmas amnesty (German: ''Weihnachtsamnestie'') or Grace (German: ''Gnadenerweis'') is the process of early

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

s and their deeds in the run-up to 24 December (Christmas) in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. This process is intended to facilitate reintegration into society.

Germany

A reform of the system of

federalism Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...

in 2006 made Christmas amnesty a matter for the states ( German: ''Länder''). Therefore, they individually decide how and to what extent they implement a Christmas amnesty.

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

does not conduct any Christmas amnesty, they reason that the Christmas amnesty would give some prisoners unfair advantages. Only prisoners whose prison term would end anyway in the period between mid-November and the first week of January can be released early. Usually prisoners with substitute custodial sentences benefit from this regulation, these are imposed on people who have not paid their fines. Excluded are those who have committed serious offences such as narcotics, violent or sexual offences, who have not attracted any negative attention in prison, or have to serve a long prison sentence. The prisoners have to agree on their release but accommodation and subsistence must be also provided by the prisoners. The early releasement allows prisoners to finish officials visits (e.g. unemployment office) early before the national holidays or to visit support services and counselling centres. Prisoners do not always want to be released early. In 2019, 69 out of 963 total early released prisoners declined their early amnesty. In 2021, 790 prisoners were released early from prisons in

Other countries

Some states, such as the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, conduct one-time Christmas amnesties.

References

{{coord missing, Germany Prisons in Germany Penal system in Austria