On Tuesday, October 15, the leader of the A Just Russia faction announced that he would soon submit to the State Duma a bill on a partial lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty. This decision, judging by the results of a survey on the official page of the State Duma on VKontakte, is supported by the Russians themselves. Izvestia found out what this could lead to.
Mironov will propose considering a partial return of the death penalty
History of the ban
The first moratorium on the death penalty in Russia can be called the decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna of 1744. It noted that the death penalty in the Russian Empire “is carried out not for proper guilt, but for others and innocently.” Therefore, according to the decree, descriptions of the cases of criminals were required to be sent to the Senate and await further orders. During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, not a single execution was carried out.
A new “bloodless” period began in Russia only in the late 1990s. The abolition of the death penalty was an essential condition for Russia's accession to the Council of Europe, and in 1996, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed Protocol No. 6 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provided for its abolition.
the death penalty
February 28, 1996. Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov (right) and Council of Europe Secretary General Daniel Tarshis sign documents during the official ceremony of Russia's accession to the Council of Europe
Photo: TASS/Nikita Ermakov
The Russian State Duma has not yet ratified the document, therefore, although the ban is in effect in accordance with international documents, the death penalty has not formally disappeared from Russian legislation. Article 59 of the Criminal Code states that exceptional punishment may be established for especially serious crimes that encroach on life.
Matvienko spoke out against the death penalty in Russia
All contradictions in the legislation were finally resolved by the clarification of the Constitutional Court in 1999. “The fact that Protocol No. 6 has not yet been ratified, in the context of the current legal realities, does not prevent it from being recognized as an essential element of the legal regulation of the right to life,” the message says. “Since 1997, the death penalty cannot be applied, that is, punishment in The death penalty should neither be imposed nor executed.”
Population's opinion about the insurance company
According to the study, 33% of citizens surveyed were in favor of restoring the death penalty to its previous size (as it was in the early 90s).” At the same time, the majority of supporters of the return of the death penalty are people in the age categories 40–54 years and 55+.
Another 16% of respondents are in favor of expanding the use of execution compared to previous practice.
Sociologists note that 72% of respondents believe that capital punishment should be imposed for rape of minors, 64% for serial murder, 45% for premeditated murder, 44% for terrorism, 39% for drug trafficking, 18% for treason, 12% for an attempt on the life of the head of state.
According to the study, 33% of citizens surveyed were in favor of restoring the death penalty to its previous levels.
According to the survey, 21% of Russians were in favor of maintaining the moratorium on the death penalty, which is in effect in the Russian Federation; the share of supporters of the complete abolition of executions was 19% - more than a third of the surveyed young people aged 19–24 were in favor of this. Another 10% of respondents found it difficult to answer.
The survey was conducted from October 24 to October 30, 2021, using an all-Russian sample of the urban and rural population of 1,616 people aged 18 years and older in 137 settlements and 50 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The study was conducted at the respondents' homes using personal interviews.
The death penalty in Russia has not been abolished by law. Since 1996, since the country joined the Council of Europe, Russia has had a moratorium on the use of such a measure of punishment for criminals; its alternative is life imprisonment. The moratorium expired on January 1, 2010, but in November 2009 the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation extended it until the State Duma ratifies the protocol on the abolition of the death penalty.
Bring back the supreme measure
Disputes about whether capital punishment should be used in Russia arise regularly. Especially after high-profile crimes that cause wide public outcry. Bills proposing the introduction of the death penalty for certain crimes were submitted to the State Duma back in 2015.
Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Bastrykin, giving a lecture to students of Moscow State Law Academy named after. O.E. Kutafin, said that lifting the moratorium on the death penalty is permissible only based on the results of a referendum, and punishment should be applied only in exceptional cases against persons who have committed particularly serious crimes.
the death penalty
November 19, 2009. Announcement of the decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on the application of the death penalty
Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Danichev
The Public Chamber proposed a new alternative to the death penalty
The attitude of Russians to this issue can be judged by the results of a survey published on Friday, October 11, on the State Duma page “VKontakte”. Users were asked to answer the question: “Do you think the death penalty should be returned for child killers and pedophiles?” Over five days, almost 150 thousand people took part in the voting. More than 79% of Internet users were in favor of capital punishment. In the comments, citizens noted that they were not ready to support such criminals with their own money and did not believe that prison would be able to correct them.
The number of prisoners in Russia is really high. As of 2021, we are talking about more than half a million people. At the same time, keeping one criminal in a colony, as noted by Deputy Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) Valery Maksimenko, costs about 60 thousand rubles a year.
Recidivism in the country is also becoming common. From 2012 to 2021, their number increased by almost 16%.
Pros and cons of the death penalty
Despite the actual moratorium, disputes over the justification of using the death penalty in Russia have not subsided to this day. They flare up especially strongly after the next brutal and high-profile murders. We will not discuss whether the death penalty is needed in our country or not. We will simply look at the main arguments for and against such a punishment. Let everyone draw their own conclusions.
Despite the actual moratorium, disputes over the justification of using the death penalty in Russia have not subsided to this day.
Pros of SK
The first plus: an eye for an eye. There is no question of revenge here. This is the fairness factor. If one person killed another, doesn't he deserve the same fate? Perhaps this is somewhat inhumane (but more on that later). However, supporters of the death penalty take the position that the rights of victims must be considered first. It's hard to disagree with them!
Second plus: content. Our country allocates about 35-40 thousand rubles per month for each prisoner. This is higher than the average salary in many regions. Russia spends more than 700 million a day on the maintenance of prisoners, given their number. How much is this expense per year? A lot. Thus, serious violators of law and order, even after being taken into custody, continue to harm the citizens of the country, receiving very serious sums for their share of maintenance.
Third plus: alternative. The death penalty has an alternative - life imprisonment. And again, it’s worth asking: is it better to spend your whole life behind bars, knowing that you will never be released again? The answer lies within each individual individual. Someone would prefer to die rather than sit for years, silently waiting for inevitable death.
Our country allocates about 35-40 thousand rubles per month for each prisoner - this is higher than the average salary in many regions
The fourth benefit: deterrence. The very fact of the death penalty as a form of punishment can prevent more than one crime. In an attempt to take someone's life, the criminal may fear for his own. If only it weren't too late.
Fifth benefit: protection of society. On June 11, 1962, Frank Morris and his brothers John and Clarence Anglin successfully escaped from Alcatraz prison, previously considered the most secure place of detention. A person is freedom-loving, therefore, given the opportunity, a serious criminal can escape from prison. What will happen when he takes to the city streets again? It can hardly be said unequivocally that he learned his lesson.
Disadvantages of SK
Impossibility of rehabilitation. The risk of miscarriage of justice always exists. There are many known cases where a person was found innocent after several decades of imprisonment. In the case of the death penalty, it is no longer possible to acquit an innocently convicted person.
Doesn't lead to correction. The true purpose of punishment is the desire for correction. This is why parents punish their children, for example, so that they understand that this is not necessary. That is why there are different types of judicial punishment: imprisonment, correctional labor, and so on. The death penalty does not lead to correction in any way.
The existence of executioners. The presence of the institution of the death penalty in the state means the mandatory presence of executioners - people who will carry out sentences. They, in fact, will also commit murders, but unlike the criminals they will execute, this will be their job. In this context, an executioner who sent several dozen convicts to the next world will not be much different from a serial killer.
May not always be a deterrent. For some types of punishment, the death penalty, as we have already found out above, can indeed be a good deterrent. But not for everyone. For example, serial killers and maniacs who know that they are already facing the death penalty will commit more and more crimes simply because they have nothing to lose. The same can be said about terrorists, who are already constantly ready to risk their lives. For them, the fear of the death penalty will mean absolutely nothing.
Acceptable for people, but not for the state
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The position of specialists on this issue is not so clear. “In Russia, many people are indeed in favor of the death penalty, but a serious question arises as to how effective it is and how fair the sentences will be,” explains Vladimir Annikov, head of the corporate legal unit of the European Legal Service. “We have had high-profile cases that show that the system of applying criminal coercive measures is often ineffective. Starting from corruption on the part of persons participating in the investigation, ending with issues of inquisitoriality of a number of processes, when people receive real sentences in the absence of a criminal offense.”
The possibility that innocent people could be harmed worries many other professionals as well. “The fact that the verdict was unfair may be revealed years later. If we are talking about deprivation of liberty, then the situation can at least be corrected. “I myself came across a case where two innocent people were almost sentenced to death,” recalls Russian politician and human rights activist Valery Borshchev. — The murder of girls was investigated in Arkhangelsk. The investigator was already preparing two people for execution. I was a State Duma deputy at the time, and the mother of these girls came to me and said that the wrong people were being judged. I turned to the Deputy Prosecutor General, they took up the case, and, indeed, it was proven that they were innocent. It is often said that such cases are few, but this is a matter of human life. If it weren’t for that woman who, despite the terrible grief, was able to think about others, they would simply have been shot.”
the death penalty
Photo: IZVESTIA/Alexey Mayshev
According to the expert, capital punishment for a crime is itself paradoxical. “This is an emotional reaction, I can completely understand it. When a scoundrel and a scoundrel commits a terrible crime, a desire immediately arises to tear him apart, to lynch him, but these emotions are permissible at the level of people, and not at the level of the state. It pursues a certain policy. If we condemn murder, then murder cannot be punished with murder. This is a paradox,” the human rights activist is sure.
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Under Elizaveta Petrovna, not a single criminal was officially executed
Many leading politicians and government officials oppose the introduction of the death penalty. Thus, Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko said on Monday, October 14, that she is opposed to “taking people’s lives.” The Kremlin is also not discussing the possibility of returning the death penalty. This was announced by the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.
