Our site was created to create a space for the exchange of knowledge, opinions and information on qualified killings, their perpetrators and extremely long-term penalties – 25 years imprisonment and life imprisonment. We hope that it will become a widely available source of information on their adjudication and enforcement, as well as a communication tool for everyone who is interested in this issue for various reasons

The name of the site is a Polish word for “lifers”, i.e. a life prisoner, most often the perpetrator of a qualified murder. We want this name to suggest the content of the content posted here, and also makes the site easy to search for researchers and other interested parties from abroad.

The starting point for creating a website about lajfers are scientific research conducted at the Department of Criminology and Criminal Policy of the University of Warsaw in cooperation with the Central Board of the Prison Service under the National Science Center grant. The research is headed by prof. Andrzej Rzepliński and dr Maria Nielaczna. [more in the tab: Research].

The website is to familiarize with the research aspects of the subject matter, such as the motives for murder, mechanisms leading to crime and ways of committing it, and also to confront problems related to the imposition and execution of these extreme punishments.

The life imprisonment sentence was introduced by an amendment to the Penal Code of 19 November 1995. So far, no prisoner sentenced to this sentence by the Polish court has had the opportunity to apply for conditional early release, because the basic, minimal prerequisite for this has not been met yet. None of them has yet served 25 years of this sentence. This means that this punishment is still an experiment in Poland, and that there is no established path for dealing with prisoners of ‘life imprisonment’. We are still learning how to carry it out.

Time is ticking and first prisoners will be able to apply for early release. The stage of difficult decisions and discussions about life imprisonment is approaching. The research carried out by our team helps to answer the questions and difficulties posed by life imprisonment.

The results of research and the exchange of experience between the Prison Service, judges, psychologists and prisoners themselves can have a decisive influence on the shape and manner in which extreme sentences are carried out.

Apart from that, the website is intended to reach out to people connected with the subject matter discussed here, whose knowledge or experience may enrich its content.

That’s why if you’re here:

• a scientist and researcher who seeks knowledge and understanding of the perpetrators of qualified killings and the specific nature of their extremely long sentences, either by conducting research or by seeking to start research,
• a practitioner and an expert, i.e.:
  • a judge who, on behalf of the state and society, decides on the extent and severity of punishment for perpetrators of homicides,
  • a court expert, a prosecutor, an attorney, and you remember that in your career you have been involved in a murder for which an extremely long term penalty has been imposed,
  • you are serving this sentence as a prison officer or civil servant,
• participant in the execution of extreme punishment, acting for the benefit of prisoners or providing assistance to victims of homicides and their families,
• journalist whose eyes follow public trials in murder cases,
• life prisoner or sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, his sister, brother, mother, father, son or daughter, friend, acquaintance,

And finally if you are…

• who knows the most about the gravity of the crime of murder, because he suffers from it,

… this site is for You. Stay tuned to us and contact us.