Granting of external work regime to a convicted person who has spent a long period in pre-trial detention

Facts

[A.] was sentenced by the Vaud Cantonal Court to a custodial sentence of five and a half years for various economic offenses. After having spent a long period in pre-trial detention, he requested to serve the remainder of his sentence under the external work and accommodation regime provided for in Art. 77a of the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC). However, the Execution of Sentences Office and the Criminal Appeals Chamber of the Vaud Cantonal Court rejected his request, considering that he had to have previously resided in an open institution or in the open section of a closed institution.

[A.] then appealed this decision to the Federal Tribunal, arguing that he met the conditions of Art. 77a SCC to benefit from external work, in particular having served more than half of his sentence and not presenting a risk of escape or recidivism.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal upheld the appeal. It considered that prior residence in an open environment was not an imperative condition for the granting of external work, but a measure aimed at assessing the inmate's abilities and the trust that can be placed in him. The Tribunal held that a convicted person who has spent a long period in pre-trial…