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What’s the point of prison?

There are wildly different approaches to how society should deal with people who commit violent crime, with Switzerland being at the “softer” end of the spectrum. What purpose should time behind bars serve?

In Switzerland, the proportion of people jailed for assault causing bodily injury is a quarter of the European average. Many Swiss experts say this is justified, arguing that other sanctions are more effective. What’s your view?

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Weighing up the “unusual” Swiss justice system

This content was published on Take a sample case of aggravated bodily assault. On a night out a young man savagely beats up a passer-by in a random attack leaving the victim seriously injured. The case goes to trial, the attacker is convicted, his name is published and he goes to jail. Right? In most countries maybe, but not necessarily…

Read more: Weighing up the “unusual” Swiss justice system

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR