Dangerousness, long prison terms, and preventive measures in Germany

The article gives an overview on the historical development of life sentences, preventive detention, and hospital orders for mentally disordered offenders in Germany on the basis of official conviction statistics. The life sentence is the most severe punishment today, while its role was less important as long as capital punishment existed. Preventive detention and hospital orders both are viewed as preventive measures, and they are indefinite from the beginning. While preventive detention is widely discussed today, convictions by the courts have been increasing from a low level. The level of hospital orders is much higher today.