After German reunification in October 1990, individual members of the NVR were prosecuted in connection with their political responsibility for the regime's border policies, including the use of deadly force "(Schießbefehl)" and the deaths of escapees along the inner-German border and the Berlin Wall. As an example, in 1997, Krenz was convicted and sentenced to 6½ years in prison for his role in the deaths of four escapees, although he actually served just under four years (13 January 2000 to 18 December 2003) before being released on parole.