11 death row inmates will be released in the next two years

History of the abolition of the moratorium on the death penalty

This past week, A Just Russia deputies introduced a bill on capital punishment for terrorists to the State Duma. There have been several precedents in world history for the return of the death penalty. Read more about them in the RIA Novosti material. At the moment, capital punishment is actively used in 37 countries, and in another six countries it is used in special cases such as crimes committed in wartime. In other states, there is either a moratorium or the death penalty, although not legally abolished, has nevertheless not existed in practice over the past 10 years or more. It is worth noting that among the states that actively use the death penalty are the two largest economies in the world - the USA and China.

Proponents of the death penalty usually say that the threat of being put in the electric chair or receiving a lethal injection is a much more obvious motivation not to commit a crime than the danger of being in prison, but still alive. They also point out that it is unethical to keep those responsible for the death of people for life at the expense of taxpayers.

Opponents point to the existence of judicial errors, which, in the case of the death penalty, can no longer be corrected, and to the existence of international agreements. The abolition of the death penalty, for example, is a condition for joining international organizations such as the Council of Europe and supranational institutions such as the European Union.

However, in practice there are also precedents of “reverse movement”, when countries that banned capital punishment return to it again.

Pakistan

In 2015, Pakistani authorities completely lifted the moratorium on the death penalty that had been in effect in the republic since 2008.

First, the ban on executing criminals convicted of terrorism was lifted. This happened in December 2014, after nine militants from the militant organization Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (collaborating with the Afghan Taliban) attacked a military school in Peshawar, Pakistan. 145 people died, most of whom were cadets aged 10 to 18 years.

And already in March 2015, the country’s leadership lifted the moratorium on all crimes. “The procedure for executing death sentences is strictly defined by law; they can only be activated when all legal remedies have been exhausted and petitions for clemency <...> are rejected by the President,” reads a document from the Pakistani Ministry of Interior.

According to human rights activists Amnesty International, one hundred people were hanged in Pakistan in the four months after the moratorium on the death penalty was lifted.

Indonesia

Due to its geographical location, Indonesia has always been particularly attractive to international crime syndicates and drug traffickers. Drug couriers can enter this country in different ways: through Iran, drugs can also be imported in transit from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, as well as by sea through China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In this regard, Indonesian anti-drug legislation is one of the strictest in the world; the import of prohibited substances into this country is often punishable by death.

For 5 years (2008-2013), Indonesia had an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty, but it was lifted with the advent of the new president, the current head of the country, Joko Widodo, who stated that anyone who commits a drug-related crime will not be pardoned .

Authorities say harsh punishments for such crimes were dictated by the country's situation - in 2015, the National Anti-Drug Agency reported 33 Indonesians dying from drugs every day.

In April 2015, authorities carried out the death sentence on eight members of the Bali Nine - one Indonesian and seven foreigners (only Filipino citizen Mary Jane Veloso received a stay of execution) - convicted of heroin smuggling. The execution drew condemnation from Brazil and Australia, whose citizens were sentenced to death - Brasilia and Canberra recalled their ambassadors from Jakarta.

USA

The United States is the only Western country that uses the death penalty. It is a legal punishment in two parallel jurisdictions - both at the federal level and at the local level (in 32 states).

From 1967 to 1977, every state in the country had a de facto moratorium on the death penalty following the high-profile lawsuit Furman v. State of Georgia. A state court ruled that Fuhrman was guilty of armed robbery and the murder of the owner of the house he was trying to rob and should be executed. At the same time, Furman himself stated at the trial that, while running away from the owner of the house, he accidentally shot him, hitting the trigger.

Fuhrman's appeal reached the US Supreme Court, where the judges were divided and a general decision had to be made, which was extremely rare. In the end, by a vote of five to four, the Supreme Court found that the use of the death penalty in Fuhrman's case was "arbitrary and inappropriate" and violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the American Constitution and was therefore "cruel and unusual punishment." This decision did not mean that the highest court had banned the death penalty in principle, but only pointed out inconsistencies in the legislation and legal procedures.

Thirty-seven states were dissatisfied with the decision in the Furman case, and after its adoption, these jurisdictions changed and supplemented the legislation, eliminating the controversial issues pointed out by the Supreme Court from the death penalty procedure.

In 1977, Georgia imposed the death penalty under new laws, and the case Gregg v. Georgia went to the Supreme Court, which determined the rights of juries in sentencing and the procedure for hearing appeals, recognizing that the death sentence could be constitutional. Executions have resumed.

The US Supreme Court in 1977 banned the death penalty for the rape of an adult woman, determining that the extreme penalty is applicable only in cases of murder.

In 2008, the Supreme Court stopped states from imposing the death penalty for child rape. After Kennedy v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court effectively left local courts with the power to grant capital negotiations only in cases of capital crimes and treason. In 2014, 35 death sentences were carried out in the United States.

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FEED A KILLER FOR LIFE?

Sergey Markov.

Sergei Markov: — Civilization is gradually coming to the complete abolition of the death penalty. The main reason is that too many people have been sentenced to death by mistake. According to statistics, such cases are 15%. That is, 15% of innocent people were killed. Are you ready to take responsibility for this?

The second reason is that imprisonment for the rest of one’s life is considered more painful. And this is what stops potential murderers more than a bright death as a result of execution.

When the state says, “In the name of society, I will execute this person,” the barrier to killing a person is lowered. As if they were saying that this is acceptable. Thousands of people begin to think: “Well, yes, under certain conditions it is possible to kill.”

Anton Belyakov.

Anton Belyakov: — It is difficult to return the death penalty to Russia, conditionally tomorrow. But it needs to be done. If you try to answer the question, “is there a crime for which the only adequate measure can be the death penalty,” I think everyone will find an affirmative answer for themselves.

Yes, a miscarriage of justice is a compelling argument. But if a person was convicted three times of serious crimes, if we used a jury trial, then we need to punish. Not because society will be satisfied, but so that others will be discouraged.

If we in Russia introduced the death penalty for drug distribution, we would have an effect tomorrow. And these are also human lives.

Another example is corruption. And the Chinese experience will help us. Everyone is fighting corruption in Russia; ask any politician: “Are you for corruption?” - "No, I am against". And nothing has changed.

Help "KP".

Elena Afonina: — People write to us: “Introducing execution in cases like in Kazan, yes. After all, the state will also have to feed the child killer for life...” Mr. Markov, will you feed these criminals?

Markov: - They must work. And work well. Doesn't work well - doesn't eat well. As far as I know, the country’s leadership is now really discussing: “Perhaps we should give up on the Council of Europe, since we already have no relations with it, and introduce the death penalty if the majority of the people want it?” If 90% of the population is in favor of the death penalty, such a solution is probably possible. If the people are divided 50/50, everything will remain as it is.

Vitaly MILONOV, State Duma deputy:

Vitaly Milonov.

— The death penalty is reprisal against a prisoner, and this has always been considered disgraceful. It also applies to a person who is already in prison and cannot cause harm to society. I am in favor of eliminating terrorists and bandits while neutralizing them. The hand will not tremble. But when a person is already in captivity, in handcuffs, why shoot him? Only sadists can demand this.

The most terrible punishment is life imprisonment. No parole, no chance to ever see the free world.

Consequences of Elizabeth's decree

However, the death penalty was not abolished, but only its application was suspended. In provinces far from the capital, the empress’s decision was a curiosity and there they often did not bring the matter to the Senate, but acted “the old fashioned way.”

For this reason, for another ten years, the Senate issued decrees confirming the ban on the imposition and execution of death sentences. Be that as it may, Elizabeth's transformations did not remain without a trace.

Subsequent rulers of the Russian Empire continued the work of their predecessor.

• Peter the Third. There were very few rules, but I did not revise Elizabeth’s norms.
• Catherine the Great. She had to use executions only in cases that were especially dangerous for the country. Emelyan Pugachev and his supporters were executed with all the severity of the Council Code and the Military Regulations.
• Pavel the First. During his reign, new lands were annexed, and he managed to convey the ban on punishment by death to them.
• Alexander the First. During the entire period of his reign, only 24 people were executed.
• Nicholas the First. The reign began with a decision on how to deal with the Decembrists. As a result, out of 36 sentenced, only five lost their lives, while the rest were sent to lifelong hard labor.

In bearskin

The death penalty was introduced into law in Rus' under Ivan the Terrible. In the Code of Laws of 1550, the options for killing allowed for a fair amount of variety.

• Death in bearskin. In the chronicles - “to sheathe bear.” The convict was sewn into animal skin and poisoned with dogs.
• The head of the foreign order, Ivan Viskovaty, was tied to a post, after which the tsar’s entourage cut out a piece of meat from the body of the condemned man.
• A nobleman named Ovtsyn was hanged on the same crossbar with a sheep. And several monks were tied to a barrel of gunpowder and blown up: they said, let them fly to heaven like angels.
• During the Novgorod pogrom (1569 - 1570), people were set on fire with flammable compounds, the scorched ones were tied to sleighs and horses were allowed to gallop. Then the unfortunate people were thrown into the river from the bridge. Their wives and children were brought ashore. Women's arms and legs were twisted back, children were tied to them and they were also thrown into the cold water. The guardsmen in the boats finished off those who surfaced with hooks and axes.
• In 1570, on Red Square in Moscow, belts were cut from the skin of living rebels, after which their arms and legs were cut off, their stomachs were ripped open, and their heads were cut off.
• State traitors sentenced to death were placed in a cauldron filled with oil, wine or water, their hands were threaded into rings embedded in metal, and they were placed on fire.
• Under Peter I, quartering was actively practiced (all the bones of a person were broken, after which the body was tied to a wheel and placed on a pole) and hanging with a hook by the rib.
• Before the 1917 revolution, the disciplinary code of the navy provided for the shooting of rioters covered with a tarpaulin. The platoon fired at the victims until they stopped moving. In 1905, after an order for such an execution given by a senior officer, an uprising began on the battleship Potemkin.

10 YEARS AFTER THE SENTENCE

Afonina: - Sorry for clarification, are you suggesting executions or lethal injections?

Belyakov: — The moment when a criminal needs to be given an injection or a shot must occur no less than 10 years after the sentence. Including to minimize errors of justice. We know that before the maniac Chikatilo was caught, another person was executed for his crimes. This shouldn't happen again. But parents (who are now in Kazan are afraid to think what they are experiencing) should know that the scumbag has been given the death penalty. How it will be implemented is the second question.

“DRUGS HAVE FLOWED THE STREETS”

Belyakov: Unfortunately, we are all impulsive. A striking example is high-profile accidents with drunk drivers. Hot heads raise a wave every time: “Let's introduce the death penalty for drinking alcohol while driving.”

I have been a supporter of the death penalty for many years. But I start not from high-profile events, but from systemic problems. One such challenge is drugs. They have taken over our streets. People who organize criminal drug trafficking groups and involve children in this must understand that they face the death penalty for this.

Afonina: — So a drug courier who brings drugs to school will receive capital punishment? Or just a drug lord?

Belyakov: — The court will decide this in each specific case. Indeed: in our country, if a case is brought to court, the probability that a person will be found guilty is more than 99%. People are right that the Russian justice system is accusatory. And something needs to be done about this too.

"KP" survey.

Photo: Dmitry POLUKHIN

Maniacs under protection

Golovkin was suspected of 40 rapes and murders of boys in the Moscow region. Only 11 were proven. The maniac was detained on October 19, 1992. Four days earlier, the Rostov Regional Court sentenced Andrei Chikatilo for 53 proven murders. The handwriting of the murderers was similar in many ways. But Chikatilo’s victims were women, girls and boys. The boa constrictor, as Golovkin was nicknamed by the detectives, attacked only boys. He raped, killed, mocked corpses. He opened the blood account in 1986. He picked up voting teenagers on the roads, lured them into a bunker...

A boa constrictor was detained after it tore to pieces three teenagers in an underground dungeon. One of the locals remembered: a horse worker gave the guys a lift in his car. On December 19, 1994, the death sentence was pronounced. Had the procedure dragged on for a few more weeks, Golovkin would have avoided death. Yeltsin’s decree “On the gradual reduction of the use of the death penalty in connection with Russia’s entry into the Council of Europe” was in full swing.

Galyaviev, a shooter from Kazan who imagined himself to be a god, has been declared insane and will be treated. Photo: Globallookpress.com