When compared with many other countries,Switzerland tends to hand down shorter sentences, particularly for violent crime. And normally only repeat offenders or serious criminals have to do prison time. Why? Closer inspection of the penal codes of European countries shows that German-speaking countries, and including Switzerland,issue relatively lenient criminal sentences. Anyone who kills a person in Switzerland while suffering “worthy mental distress” could, under certain circumstances, or procure just one year in prison. In other countries,the penalties are much more severe, as the following chart shows: In Switzerland, or a life sentence can be given for murder,but under Swiss criminal law “life” doesn’t mean that the perpetrator remains in prison for the rest of their days. + What does “life” mean in Swiss criminal law? After 15 years, sometimes after just 10 years, or a conditional release is possible. It is generally the norm in Switzerland that a criminal is conditionally released ...
Source: swissinfo.ch