Russia may reinstate death penalty for grave crimes

Discussions about the need to reinstate the death penalty in Russia occur on a regular basis. Unfortunately, there are enough reasons for this.

For example, a candidate for State Duma deputy, the head of the "Russian Party of Freedom and Justice," journalist Maxim Shevchenko, proposed to introduce the death penalty for treason during the war.

According to him, criminals should be executed for premeditated murder and for rape.

"I believe that the death penalty should be implemented for premeditated murder, for deliberate, and, of course, proven rape. For treason during the war as well," Shevchenko said.

Earlier, Gennady Onishchenko, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science, spoke in favour for the introduction of the death penalty too. He firmly believes that it is pedophiles who should be sentenced to capital punishment in the first place. According to Onishchenko, the crime that pedophiles commit are "worse than murder."

Politicians Yaroslav Nilov and Svetlana Bessarab also spoke about the death penalty for pedophiles. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation also advocates lifting the moratorium on the death penalty to punish criminals for violent crimes against children. First deputy chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Yuri Afonin said that a lot has changed in Russia over the last 30 years from the point of view of morality and ethics.

Afonin believes that to find a global solution to this problem, one should change the educational system in the country. And the situation itself needs to be regulated by tightening responsibility for such crimes.

The Federation Council also spoke in favor of tougher punishment for crimes against children.

Senator Valery Ryazansky said that life imprisonment should be introduced for grave crimes against children disregarding extenuating circumstances.

Pedophiles should be subjected to mandatory coercive chemical castration in order to protect minors, the senator believes.

The topic has become relevant again after the hideous murder of two minor girls in the Kemerovo region, when a 41-year-old man, who had previous criminal record, raped and killed the girls after buying them candy. The question of inappropriate and inadequate humanism of the Russian criminal legislation was raised immediately.

The goal of any punishment is to isolate dangerous individuals from the society. The man, who killed the two girls in Kemerovo, had served ten years in prison and was released to rape and kill children again. Clearly, prison terms for grave and especially grave crimes should be increased considerably. After all, capital punishment should be reinstated in Russia to deal with criminal cases similar to the one that Kemerovo saw. This would help so many believe in justice.