Elena Larrauri: "The pain of the victim is 100 but the prison sentence cannot reach 100"

Francesc-Marc Álvaro and Javier Melero chat with Elena Larrauri, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology at Pompeu Fabra University, about various aspects related to crime, its prevention and its punishment.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
07 May 2023 Sunday 22:24
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Elena Larrauri: "The pain of the victim is 100 but the prison sentence cannot reach 100"

Francesc-Marc Álvaro and Javier Melero chat with Elena Larrauri, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology at Pompeu Fabra University, about various aspects related to crime, its prevention and its punishment. An expert in the penitentiary system, criminal records, the sentencing system and gender analysis in the criminal justice system, she positively values ​​the law of only yes is yes, but criticizes the fact that a debate has been promoted that relates the automatic uploading of penalties with the solution to sexual crimes. Larrauri wonders, rhetorically, if there is a big difference between issuing 15 or 17 years in prison against a sex offender. In her view, it has been impossible to address this law without discussing it in a simplistic way, heavily influenced by a growing “punitive sentiment”.

With extensive academic experience, also in the international arena, Dr. Larrauri points out that "it cannot be a coincidence that the societies with the greatest inequality are also those with the highest rates of violent crime." In another order, this expert affirms that "we have a juvenile penal system that works reasonably well", and she is not in favor of lowering the criminal age of minors, something that some have suggested after learning about some violations carried out by adolescents.

In her spare time, Elena Larrauri likes to listen to the music of Karol G, which she discovered in Medellín, as well as the Talking Heads and Raimon singing the classic "Jo vinc d'un silenci".