Will Russia Reinstate the Death Penalty?
Published November 02, 2009 @ 08:14PM PT
Russia is at a crossroads on capital punishment.
Ten years ago, the Russian Constitutional Court introduced a moratorium on death sentences until the country made the switch to the jury system. The country's leaders also pledged to abolish the practice as they were joining the Council of Europe, and the jury delay was seen as a step toward abolition.
The switch to juries is nearly complete, and human rights advocates and death penalty abolitionists are watching Russia's next steps on capital punishment.
Jury trials are now standard practice throughout most of the Russian Federation, with only Chechnya left to make the switch. On paper, the Chechen Republic is scheduled to be start jury trials on January 1, but it doesn't look like that will happen. No preparations have been made for the switch, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is expected to say in his upcoming state of the nation address that the death penalty moratorium will continue, Russian website Gazeta.ru reported over the weekend.
Gazeta also reports that the government isn't ready to either fully abolish the death penalty or reinstate it right now, so delaying the jury switch in Chechnya might be an escape hatch. But if the Council of Europe has a say, the moratorium will last until abolition is finally possible.
Via Death Penalty News -- Photo by Alan Cordova
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Comments (2)
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Matt has worked and volunteered in various capacities in criminal justice reform for several years. When he's not blogging, he works as the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project. Views expressed here are Matt's, and don't represent the positions of the Innocence Project.
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When I read this article it gives me the chills but the I forgot the U.S. is the #1 jailer in the world with 1 in 31 in Corrections, probation or parole. This doesn't count juveniles or detention centers. Now this is chilling! See Pew Report on the States 1 in 31.
Posted by Camille Tilley on 11/02/2009 @ 10:22PM PT
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One of the most interesting blogs i've read in a while. Just as the entire country of Russia is at a crossroads now so their judicial system. Having been abolished in 1999 the battle over whether or not to reinstate the death penalty begins again in Russia. With the move to jury trials coming at a swift pace in Russia it may only be a matter of time before Capital Punishment is reinstated as well. there is one other comment on this story and the person who commented I guess decided on the route of sarcasm as she appeared astonished that Russia would reinstate the death penalty before coming to the realizaton that the United States and its frequent use of the Death Penalty has already made this a noticeable problem around the world.
Posted by rocky dominguez on 11/08/2009 @ 12:31PM PT
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