Criminals serving life sentences in Denmark will be banned from making new romantic acquaintances. What events led to the emergence of such a bill?
For the first 10 years of their sentence, Danes sentenced to life will not be allowed to make new friends, freely post stories about their crimes on social media or discuss them on podcasts. Such a bill will enter into force in Denmark from January 2022. That is, the circle of communication of such people will be limited only to those with whom the criminals were familiar before, before they went to prison.
Why is there a need for such a restriction?
One of the reasons for the appearance of the bill is the scandalous story of Peter Madsen, convicted in 2018 for the premeditated murder of journalist Kim Wall, aggravated sexual assault and desecration of a corpse.
Already in prison, he met and started a love correspondence with the Russian artist and activist Jenny Kurpen, who lives in Finland. Despite the fact that Peter committed a heinous crime, she married him. Their marriage was registered in 2020. Previously, Madsen had an affair with 17-year-old schoolgirl Camille Kurstein, who she admitted was madly in love with him and completely fascinated by his personality.
The fact is that thanks to the Internet, social networks and online dating, murderers, rapists and other persons who have committed particularly serious crimes can have a strong influence on other people. Descriptions of actions, sometimes striking in their cruelty, do not cause disgust and rejection among all readers. Someone is attracted to the personality of a murderer and rapist, especially if the perpetrator has charisma.
Criminals fall in love, they have imitators and “followers”
On the other hand, the convicts themselves, wishing to attract the attention of the public, continue to savor the monstrous details of their atrocities. So both sides feed the dark and socially dangerous sides of the individual. “Obviously, this has to stop,” Danish Justice Minister Nick Höckerup said. According to him, the prison is not a dating club or a media platform for criminals to brag about their deeds.
The bill has caused controversy – human rights experts say such censorship is unacceptable and believe that the restriction “violates the right of prisoners to privacy.”
It seems that society faces not only a legal, but also a moral choice, when the rights and freedoms of one person come into conflict with the interests of others.
The influence that charismatic criminals can have on subscribers is contrary to the interests of society
Recall that in the spring of this year, a similar topic was raised in Russia. We are talking about the scandalous film by Ksenia Sobchak about the Skopin maniac. Thanks to the show, the criminal who kidnapped and kept in the basement for almost 4 years and raped 14-year-old Ekaterina Martynova and 17-year-old Elena Samokhina received his “minute of fame”.
Psychologist Vladimir Dashevsky believes that such stories contribute to the glorification of the criminal, that is, turning him into a hero. Crime is becoming an easy way to become famous, the expert believes, calling the sensational interview “an advertisement for the culture of violence that literally permeates our society.”