Thomas Galli – „Guilt. Punishment. Right?“

The title of Thomas Galli’s new podcast, „Guilt. Punishment. Law?“, is his programme, especially as far as the question mark behind law is concerned. It is also to be understood as a reference to Fritz Bauer, who was responsible for prisons during his years as Attorney General. Like Thomas Galli today, Bauer campaigned for the rights of prisoners and a more humane penal system. The advocate of justice was not least concerned with the question of whether and how it can be „humane“ to lock a person behind bars. „Why prisons“ was the title of one of Bauer’s first publications after his return from exile and the end of the Nazi regime.

Thomas Galli, who knows the situation of prisoners well enough from his many years of experience as a prison governor, is similarly moved by this question. He has published extensively on the subject and has put himself in the shoes of prisoners, who often come out of a prison more damaged than when they went in.

Thomas Galli has been involved with our criminal justice system for over 20 years. He has worked in various prisons and now works as a lawyer specialising in criminal law and the penal system. In the podcast, he wants to talk to his guests about the meaningfulness of our penalties and our penal system. According to Fritz Bauer, our criminal law originates from the monkey era. Should we overcome it and what could a humane approach to criminal offences look like? Thomas Galli talks about this with victims, offenders, prisoners, relatives and academics, among others.

The first episodes of the new podcast „Guilt. Punishment. Law?“ are now online!

Dr Thomas Galli, lawyer and former government director, studied law, criminology and psychology. He worked in the prison system for over fifteen years. In 2013, he became head of Zeithain Prison, and for a time was also head of Torgau Prison. He has been working as a lawyer since 2016. He is co-author of the commentary on the penal system laws (new edition 2022).