Forgery, drug and traffic offences dominated lapsed prison sentences

About two-thirds of the 78 prison sentences that became time-barred last year involved document forgery, offences under laws on addictive and narcotic substances, or traffic violations, mbl.is reported.

Ragna Bjarnadóttir, head of the Prison Administration, told mbl.is that authorities do everything they can to prevent sentences for the most serious cases from becoming time-barred.

From 2023 to 2025, an average of 80 sentences became time-barred each year. The sentences amounted to about 47 years in total. Bjarnadóttir said she did not know how many individuals were behind last year’s 78 sentences, but estimated the number was almost the same.