Forensics Asten

“I just wanted to have power over him”

Asten is a prison without walls. Six-meter-high fences protect the population from the inmates. Feeding and stroking chickens is part of the therapeutic measures. There is also a large vegetable garden.(Bild: TEAM FOTOKERSCHI / KERSCHBAUMMAYR)

Mentally abnormal criminals are housed in the Forensic Therapeutic Center in Asten. Estibaliz C., the double murderer who dumped the dismembered bodies of her victims in a bricked-up freezer, is also serving a life sentence here. The "Krone" went there to hear what the inmates had to say about their deeds.

A young woman kneels on the floor and strokes chickens. What at first glance appears to be an idyllic setting is actually the outdoor area of the Asten Forensic Therapeutic Center - the prison. Mentally abnormal criminals "sit" here.