Prison Break!

Friend Fabian writes to tell us about a German law allowing for a prisoner’s right to escape.

Sure enough, Wikipedia explains:

Escaping from prison isa criminal offense in countries such as the United States and Canada, and usually results in time being added to the inmate’s sentence … In Germany and a number of other countries, it is considered human nature to want to escape from a prison and it is considered as a violation of the right of freedom, so escape is not penalized in itself (in the absence of other factors such as threats of violence, actual violence, or property damage).

The countries who see the desire to escape as human nature include:

Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Iceland, Mexico, Chile, and Brazil

“Isn’t it interesting,” writes Fabien, “how they recognise our desire to be free from confinement as a natural given?”

It is. It’s something I’ve often wondered about because the alternative seems So disingenuous. Other illegalities I’ve wondered about are suicide and “resisting arrest.”

It’s unsporting if nothing else. Catching and retaining people the law sees as guilty is surely the law’s job, not that of the so-called criminal.

The only reason to obey these laws is the fear of legal consequence. There’s no moral reason for laws like these; they exist only to make rozzers’ jobs easier. I don’t think they should exist and I salute the legal systems who respect this.

The Wikipedia page for prison escapes, by the way, is great fun. It’s full of great stories about how people have busted out of prisons using spoons and helicopters.

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Escape with the best of them by reading New Escapologist Issue 19.