The abolition of the death penalty in the Russian Federation occurred very recently - at the very end of the 20th century. Because of this, a lot of noise was made around this punishment measure, the society is worried that the moratorium will be lifted and “heads will fly”. But is it really so?
What is a moratorium on the death penalty?
In fact, this phrase means that at the moment the government of the Russian Federation has completely abandoned this type of punishment and the gravity of the crime committed will not change the situation at all. Instead of the death penalty, the Criminal Code prescribes life imprisonment or for a period determined by a court, depending on the act committed.
But the moratorium on the death penalty in Russia is still considered temporary, since in the legal language this term means refraining from taking any action until the relevant conditions specified in the contract are met.
The death penalty
Previously, this type of punishment was practiced with enviable frequency and was the only possible measure provided for by the Criminal Code for certain categories of crimes. Basically the death penalty was punishable by murder or attempt on officials and prominent figures.
Such punishment was provided only for men from 18 to 65 years old, women also received similar sentences, but history knows only three cases of its execution. Before a moratorium on the death penalty was imposed in Russia, it was carried out in the only legal way - through execution.
For the good of justice
The motive for the abolition of executions in many countries is the likelihood of judicial error at the cost of the life of an innocent person. In part, this step looks like a lack of confidence in the competence of the relevant authorities, but some states (for example, Japan) compensate for this gap in justice differently - instead of abolishing this type of punishment, they increase the length of the sentence in custody to clarify additional circumstances.
So why was a moratorium on the death penalty still established in Russia? The fact is that this step was required by membership in the Council of Europe, where the Russian Federation joined in 1997 - there simply was no other way.
Subtleties of the contract
The main unrest around the moratorium has been raised due to the conditions of the annex to the European Convention on Human Rights. It states that the death penalty will only be temporarily replaced by life imprisonment - exactly until a jury is established in each subject of the Federation. But almost seven years ago, this clause was finally observed in all regions of the country, which is why the society touched on a topic such as lifting the moratorium on the death penalty in Russia.
This question was indeed submitted for consideration, but after studying all the circumstances of the situation, the court decided to leave everything as it is. For this reason, the most severe punishment applied to particularly cruel criminals was life imprisonment. However, this term is not entirely accurate. Most of the population believes that it implies detention until death, but this is not so. In fact, the term of life imprisonment is 25 years - it is believed that in Russian prisons with their conditions of detention it is impossible to hold out for so long. Moreover, in the absence of complaints regarding discipline, a prisoner can be released after 16 years in prison.
The concern over the topic of the death penalty is also created by the fact that the Penal Code still contains such a measure of punishment - that is, there is still no discussion of its complete abolition, and the situation can change at any time.
Can a moratorium on the death penalty be lifted in Russia?
More than half of the country's inhabitants really support this decision, but such a development of the situation is possible only in one case - if the Russian Federation leaves the Council of Europe. Perhaps this is the worst of all possible options, since then any international obligations, including those prescribed by the Convention on Human Rights, will completely drop from Russia.
It is not known what will happen to the legislation of the country in this case, because now it is tightly bound by the signed treaties with Europe. For the development of Russia, it is very important to maintain this aspect, regardless of the opinion of the population itself, since it is precisely on it that the exit of the Russian Federation from PACE will hit. The abolition of execution is only one of the obligations imposed on the country in the process of its entry into the organization, but meanwhile there are hundreds of them.
As regards such a sensitive issue as the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty in Russia, so long as it is part of the Council of Europe, this action is impossible. In the meantime, talk about the fact that the Russian Federation is going to leave the organization has not started.