Should capital punishment be introduced in Russia?
Despite the fact that some modern principles and moral principles have long been established in modern society, some questions remain open to this day. So, activists have repeatedly raised the question of the abolition of the death penalty in those countries where this measure of punishment is still applied as the highest. Where a moratorium on the death penalty has been imposed, or it has been abolished as a punishment measure, one can often find the opinion that in some cases the cost of one cartridge is much less than the life-time content of the offender.
That is, society cannot come to a consensus, and both the supporters of the death penalty and the opponents have quite weighty arguments. Let's try to understand this issue in more detail, but not by banal listing of the positive and negative sides of such a punishment measure, but by studying the experience of other countries and its application to Russian reality.
Let's start with those who shout the loudest about freedoms and human rights, which, however, does not prevent them from being regularly violated - from the United States. In general, the decisions of their courts are not always clear for our compatriot, it’s wild for us to hear about a sentence of 100, 200, or even 300 years, and in addition to such sentences in some states there is the death penalty. But we will not go into the differences between the judicial systems of the United States and the Russian Federation. The only thing that is important in the context of this issue is that the death penalty is present as a capital punishment for aggravated murders at the federal level, while at the state level, the death penalty can be abolished, which means that the outcome of the sentence will depend on how a crime is classified.
But even in those states where the perpetrator faces the death penalty, the sentence is in no hurry to execute. The reason for this is frequent judicial errors, and separately it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that such errors are recognized. If we turn to statistics, since 1973 more than 150 people have been released from death row, who are fully acquitted. Many will say that for such a long period of time, the percentage of errors is small. Indeed, it may seem so, but exactly until you imagine yourself or your loved ones in the place of these same 150 people.
Turning to statistics, in 2015, more than 2,5 thousand people were on death row, awaiting execution, a total of 28 people were executed. In some states, despite the fact that the death penalty is present in the law and sentences are imposed regularly, it has already been given that not one of them has been enforced. It turns out that the death penalty is present more likely as a measure of intimidation and only in exceptional cases is everyone brought to the end.
And now try to try on this practice in Russia. It's no secret that judicial errors happen with us quite often. We will not touch on the topic of error, or pre-planned actions in order to get rid of an objectionable person. As a result, we get a picture that is not very different from the present, except that the prisoners will now wait not for their natural death, but even for the small but probable possibility of the death sentence being executed. From a psychological point of view, this is certainly more difficult for a prisoner, especially if he is not guilty. In the case of undeniable guilt, as punishment for really any inhuman acts, the death penalty seems more than acceptable.
But consider another fairly large country where the death penalty is present, as a measure of punishment - China. Not only is China currently the absolute leader in the execution of death sentences, the list of criminal articles for which capital punishment can be applied is quite extensive, at the moment there are 49. Among them, not only murder, but also especially large-scale drug trafficking, financial fraud and even bribe-taking by an official.
For some unknown reason, it seems to the layman that the sentence is carried out almost at the place of detention. In fact, this, of course, is not so, and even no one has been shot at the back of the head for a long time, switching to lethal injections. In addition, in quite severe, at first glance, the laws of China there is room for concessions.
So, if the offense has not done much harm to the public and the economy the country sentenced is given a period of two years to prove its benefit to society and repent of their deeds, it is obvious that this must be done through hard work in places of deprivation of liberty. If, at the discretion of the prison administration, a prisoner deserves a second chance, the death penalty can be replaced with life imprisonment, and subsequently completely reduced to a term of 15-25 years. Of course, all this time the prisoner will work hard, justifying financially and his stay in prison and bringing income to the state treasury.
Thus, it turns out that a person sentenced to death has a chance to avoid it, while the state itself does not spend money on its maintenance. And here it would really be interesting to apply this all in Russian prisons, where some of the especially dangerous criminals simply refuse to work and to observe at least some order.
On the example of the USA and China, it is not difficult to notice that the death penalty is very effective not only as a measure of punishment, but as a measure of intimidation. To be objective, it is true that in cases where the guilt is undeniable, and such cases are, albeit in small numbers, the death penalty seems to be a fairly logical punishment. In a situation where there is at least a small probability that the defendant will be innocent, delaying the enforcement of the sentence can be very helpful. Well, the use of the death penalty as a punishment for malfeasance, in view of people's distrust of local officials of various calibers, seems to be an ideal means of combating corruption.
One cannot ignore such a question as the reaction of other countries in the event of the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty. It should be recalled that the moratorium was imposed as the fulfillment of the requirements for the Russian Federation to join the Council of Europe, but since Russia is now very limited in this organization’s rights, the abolition of the moratorium may lead to the exclusion of the country. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the issue somewhat more broadly, not only in the context of moral standards.
It is necessary to touch on one more side of the issue of capital punishment. Someone should carry out such sentences, and here I would like to ask the supporters of the death penalty a question, but could you yourself?
As mentioned above, the death penalty is good as a deterrent and can be applied only in exceptional cases of punishment either for the death of other people, or for deliberate damage to the state on a large scale, when there is no doubt about guilt. The widespread distribution, one way or another, will lead to serious mistakes and the death of innocent people, which should not be allowed. In any case, the abolition of the moratorium on the death penalty, if it takes place, is only in the context of large-scale changes in the legislation of the country, which will have to exclude erroneous sentences carried out.
That is, society cannot come to a consensus, and both the supporters of the death penalty and the opponents have quite weighty arguments. Let's try to understand this issue in more detail, but not by banal listing of the positive and negative sides of such a punishment measure, but by studying the experience of other countries and its application to Russian reality.
Let's start with those who shout the loudest about freedoms and human rights, which, however, does not prevent them from being regularly violated - from the United States. In general, the decisions of their courts are not always clear for our compatriot, it’s wild for us to hear about a sentence of 100, 200, or even 300 years, and in addition to such sentences in some states there is the death penalty. But we will not go into the differences between the judicial systems of the United States and the Russian Federation. The only thing that is important in the context of this issue is that the death penalty is present as a capital punishment for aggravated murders at the federal level, while at the state level, the death penalty can be abolished, which means that the outcome of the sentence will depend on how a crime is classified.
But even in those states where the perpetrator faces the death penalty, the sentence is in no hurry to execute. The reason for this is frequent judicial errors, and separately it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that such errors are recognized. If we turn to statistics, since 1973 more than 150 people have been released from death row, who are fully acquitted. Many will say that for such a long period of time, the percentage of errors is small. Indeed, it may seem so, but exactly until you imagine yourself or your loved ones in the place of these same 150 people.
Turning to statistics, in 2015, more than 2,5 thousand people were on death row, awaiting execution, a total of 28 people were executed. In some states, despite the fact that the death penalty is present in the law and sentences are imposed regularly, it has already been given that not one of them has been enforced. It turns out that the death penalty is present more likely as a measure of intimidation and only in exceptional cases is everyone brought to the end.
And now try to try on this practice in Russia. It's no secret that judicial errors happen with us quite often. We will not touch on the topic of error, or pre-planned actions in order to get rid of an objectionable person. As a result, we get a picture that is not very different from the present, except that the prisoners will now wait not for their natural death, but even for the small but probable possibility of the death sentence being executed. From a psychological point of view, this is certainly more difficult for a prisoner, especially if he is not guilty. In the case of undeniable guilt, as punishment for really any inhuman acts, the death penalty seems more than acceptable.
But consider another fairly large country where the death penalty is present, as a measure of punishment - China. Not only is China currently the absolute leader in the execution of death sentences, the list of criminal articles for which capital punishment can be applied is quite extensive, at the moment there are 49. Among them, not only murder, but also especially large-scale drug trafficking, financial fraud and even bribe-taking by an official.
For some unknown reason, it seems to the layman that the sentence is carried out almost at the place of detention. In fact, this, of course, is not so, and even no one has been shot at the back of the head for a long time, switching to lethal injections. In addition, in quite severe, at first glance, the laws of China there is room for concessions.
So, if the offense has not done much harm to the public and the economy the country sentenced is given a period of two years to prove its benefit to society and repent of their deeds, it is obvious that this must be done through hard work in places of deprivation of liberty. If, at the discretion of the prison administration, a prisoner deserves a second chance, the death penalty can be replaced with life imprisonment, and subsequently completely reduced to a term of 15-25 years. Of course, all this time the prisoner will work hard, justifying financially and his stay in prison and bringing income to the state treasury.
Thus, it turns out that a person sentenced to death has a chance to avoid it, while the state itself does not spend money on its maintenance. And here it would really be interesting to apply this all in Russian prisons, where some of the especially dangerous criminals simply refuse to work and to observe at least some order.
On the example of the USA and China, it is not difficult to notice that the death penalty is very effective not only as a measure of punishment, but as a measure of intimidation. To be objective, it is true that in cases where the guilt is undeniable, and such cases are, albeit in small numbers, the death penalty seems to be a fairly logical punishment. In a situation where there is at least a small probability that the defendant will be innocent, delaying the enforcement of the sentence can be very helpful. Well, the use of the death penalty as a punishment for malfeasance, in view of people's distrust of local officials of various calibers, seems to be an ideal means of combating corruption.
One cannot ignore such a question as the reaction of other countries in the event of the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty. It should be recalled that the moratorium was imposed as the fulfillment of the requirements for the Russian Federation to join the Council of Europe, but since Russia is now very limited in this organization’s rights, the abolition of the moratorium may lead to the exclusion of the country. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the issue somewhat more broadly, not only in the context of moral standards.
It is necessary to touch on one more side of the issue of capital punishment. Someone should carry out such sentences, and here I would like to ask the supporters of the death penalty a question, but could you yourself?
As mentioned above, the death penalty is good as a deterrent and can be applied only in exceptional cases of punishment either for the death of other people, or for deliberate damage to the state on a large scale, when there is no doubt about guilt. The widespread distribution, one way or another, will lead to serious mistakes and the death of innocent people, which should not be allowed. In any case, the abolition of the moratorium on the death penalty, if it takes place, is only in the context of large-scale changes in the legislation of the country, which will have to exclude erroneous sentences carried out.
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