Lukas, 23, was found dead in his cell at Jakomini prison in Graz on Saturday. A fellow inmate is in the hospital in artificial deep sleep. Everything was fine on Friday. His mother and a close friend are desperate. And they accuse: how could this happen?
“He was such a sweet, kind hearted person who would do anything for his family and friends.” – Edith L. is visibly shocked. Lukas, her best friend for many years, has passed away, he died in his cell in the prison of Graz-Jakomini – probably of an overdose. “How is that possible?” the young woman rightly asks. The 23-year-old’s mother is also in shock. “She cries, screams, is desperate. On Friday she was still talking to Lukas, on Saturday the phone call came that he was dead.” His fellow inmate is in a coma.
Lukas was in custody “because he did something stupid,” Edith says. “He ordered something illegal on the internet and it was intercepted by customs.” His first time. He has no criminal record, has never been to prison.
So what happened in the cell at night?
“Lukas said it was easy to get illegal substances. They are simply thrown over the wall when walking in the yard and then sold.” A circumstance that Mario Raudner knows well from the prison guards: “We have often criticized the management that walking on the outer wall is problematic.”
Drug use is a huge problem anyway. “Due to the many other duties that we now have as prison guards, we have long been unable to do justice to our main task, education and rehabilitation,” regrets Raudner, the young man’s death, like his colleagues, naturally affects him. A lack of personnel is probably also a perpetual menacing sword of Damocles.
“Full control not possible”
“Unfortunately, the drug smuggling can never be completely stopped,” said Lieutenant Colonel Manfred Ulrich, a prison spokesman. However, he could not confirm that it was a drug overdose: “We have to wait for the results of the autopsy first.” But he fully understands the emotions of the bereaved. “It is never easy when a child dies abroad, far from home.” But you can’t control everything. “And closing everything so that nothing goes in or out would be inhumane and encourage violence.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
