Ricart had been given consecutive sentences that totalled 170 years for his crimes, although under Spanish law the maximum anyone can serve in prison is 30 years, with time deducted for good behaviour. To prevent the worst offenders from being released sooner, courts had been applying a policy introduced in 2006 known as the Parot doctrine. Under this, any remission earned was subtracted from the full jail sentence rather than the 30-year maximum, ensuring that the most serious offenders remained in prison for the full 30 years.