Lifetime deprivation of liberty is not appointed in what cases?

Penalties are imposed for the commission of criminal offenses. This procedure, that is, the size and nature of punishment, is regulated by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Categories of crimes

In the criminal law there are several types of crimes, a kind of classification, according to which the punishment for the offender is formed:

1. Small severity - an act for which a term of not more than two years of correctional treatment is appointed.

2. Of moderate severity - a criminal offense, for which no more than five years of imprisonment in a colony is appointed.

3. Severe - actions of a criminal nature, for which the Criminal Code provides for such measures as being in a correctional institution for a period not exceeding ten years.

4. Particularly serious - acts for the production of which the punishment is appointed for a period of ten years or more, including deprivation of liberty to natural biological death of the organism or compulsory deprivation of life.

The most serious crimes

Accordingly, based on the above categories of crimes, it can be noted that life imprisonment is not designated for "light" acts. In general, such measures are applied for especially grave and dangerous crimes. These include those in the commission of which substantially violate the rights and freedoms of individuals, the whole society or state and interstate relations.

All crimes of this type are socially dangerous or committed in the same way. At the same time, such actions can be manifested both during criminal behavior and as a result of the commission of a criminal act.

List of articles with life imprisonment

In a criminal situation, as a rule, crimes of a special nature are indicated in the articles in the last part.

According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, parts 2-5 in articles (depending on the situation) can be assigned to such acts in the following positions: 105, 111, 126, 127, 131, 132, 134, 135, 161-163 and some others. This list under the number 7 is fixed in a special instruction of the Prosecutor General's Office of 2014.

In addition, there is also a list of articles on which the recognition of acts as particularly serious depends on when the criminal case was initiated.

In particular, if the cases were initiated in 2014, then they are recognized as particularly serious in articles: 205.3, part 1 of Art. 208, part 1 of Art. 212 of the Criminal Code.

Circumstances

When assigning punishment, judges who are legally entitled to make such decisions are guided not only by the composition of the crime, but also by the presence (or absence) of mitigating or aggravating circumstances. There are, for example, such circumstances, which are already in themselves concluded in another position. If such factors are clarified, they can not be additionally taken into account when deciding on the imposition of punishment.

Thus, life imprisonment, marked for especially grave crimes, is not appointed if there is evidence in the case that mitigates the defendant's guilt.

Who can not be condemned for life?

Regardless of which article was committed a crime of particular gravity, a life sentence can not be applied to citizens who are under the age of 18 and to women. Also, life imprisonment is not assigned to men who have reached the age of the rather advanced. What is this age? He is 65 years old.

According to Article 56 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, compulsory measures of restraint of liberty, including for this category of persons, can be from two months to twenty years. In special cases: for the aggregate of crimes - up to 30 years, in the aggregate of sentences - not more than 35 years.

Other criteria

Depending on other factors, the presence of which in some cases does not depend on the offender, life imprisonment is also not imposed:

- for a crime that falls into the category of particularly serious cases, if it is not completed;

- if the jury made a verdict of leniency;

- if a pre-trial cooperation agreement is concluded.

Statute of limitations

For each criminal offense, except for their main classification, the statute of limitations is also applied. Particularly serious acts have a given period of 15 years. The statute of limitations is calculated from the moment the crime was committed, but in the period when, for example, the accused was hiding, this period is suspended.

In addition, if the court passed a verdict, and it was not carried out, there are also statutes of limitations - 15 years for a sentence on special and dangerous crimes, and life imprisonment is not appointed (as well as any other punishments).

The restoration of the terms in this case may occur at the discretion of the court, in contrast to civil cases or in the proceedings for less serious crimes.

This is due to the fact that by virtue of the time the act may no longer have such a social or personal danger as it was directly in the commission, or the law itself has changed, which does not provide such a severe penalty for the act.

Additional factors

In addition to what was listed above, there are other grounds when life imprisonment is not imposed in the commission of a particularly dangerous act. These include the extenuating circumstances specified in regulation 61 of the Criminal Code:

- the actions that led to negative consequences were carried out out of a feeling of compassion;

- the act was committed under duress;

- The crime was committed in excess of the necessary limits of defense (for this there is an article);

- the necessary first aid to the victim and voluntary compensation of harm were rendered.

In the presence of these circumstances, the conclusion before the onset of biological death, that is, life, is not appointed in Russia.

Constitutional restrictions

The question arises: why did the legislator demarcate the population into categories for the use of life in a regime place? After all, it should be unimportant, a man or woman, when the method of committing a crime or its consequences do not carry a gender load. However, considering these groups of people (women, children and men 65 years old) who are socially unprotected and in need of support, the legislator has determined that the punishment in question is not applied to these segments of the population.

Some experts believe that hardened criminals who are serving their sentence as life prisoners or those guilty of carrying out a particularly dangerous crime should not be released at all, that is, they should be limited in the right to early release.

However, despite the seeming correctness of this opinion, it is necessary to recognize the constitutional provisions and provisions of the Convention on Human Rights. According to these norms a person should have the right to choose and the right to correct. The restriction of the possibility of release with good conduct is considered an essential violation of the Constitution in Russia.

Where do they serve their sentence?

A person sentenced to life imprisonment is held in a colony that has a special regime. A state institution of this type assumes that the criminals spend the first 10 years serving time under strict conditions of detention, separately from others, in a cell of two people each.

A citizen who is in such places can work and study, but special conditions are created for him. That is, the involvement of these types of activities in the general procedure is not provided, since such prisoners are kept separately and do not admit to general production or training.

A person sentenced to a life in a colony can be allowed to walk for life for a specific place in the absence of other prisoners. The period is limited to one and a half hours. If the behavior of the guilty does not violate the order and does not attract new crimes, then the walk can be increased to two hours.

If the perpetrator does not commit misdemeanors or new crimes, he can be transferred to ordinary or facilitated conditions. Thus, the convict spends 25 years in prison, after which a conditional early release is possible.

Correctional facilities

In Russia, there are such well-known correctional institutions in which those sentenced for life to be in the cell, having a special regime or mixed (strict and special, general and special, etc.).

Such institutions include:

- "Black dolphin" (Sol-Iletsk, Orenburg region);

- "The White Swan" (Solikamsk, Perm Territory);

- "Black Berkut" (Ivdelsky district, Sverdlovsk region);

- "Polar Owl" (Labytnangi, Tyumen region);

- "Vologda Pyatak" (Ognenny Island, Vologda region).

How many perpetrators are serving life?

Statistics show that life-long prisons are replenished every year. This means that in the country every year there are more and more people who are guilty of crimes for a particular category.

According to the FSIN of Russia, as of January 1, 2015, 1,897 people serving sentences for life served their sentences in penal colonies. This is 37 people more than in 2014.

Grant of parole

In Russia, life imprisonment is not imposed without the right to release, as, for example, in Bulgaria. Accordingly, the prisoner has the right, if it has already passed twenty-five years from a life sentence, to file documents with the court for release before the end of the term.

In addition, there is a compulsory order of deprivation of the right to exist in the Russian Federation, which, by way of pardon, can be changed to life imprisonment. Thus, being in a correctional institution before the biological death of a prisoner is an act of leniency toward a person in accordance with constitutional rights.

There have not been any cases of conditional release of those guilty who serve time in the colonies before biological death. However, there have been two attempts to file motions for such release, but the court left the measure of punishment unchanged. Thus, no one condemned to imprisonment before biological life was released on parole, even if he was sixty-five years old in the colony.

In some countries, as already noted, early release is not practiced for those who are condemned to spend the rest of their lives in the colony.

For minors, there are other types of punishment, since it is believed that life-long conviction of a teenager for a particularly cruel and dangerous crime is inhumane.

The most mild conditions for transferring to other conditions or for UBOs are practiced in Italy. For example, a prisoner in twenty years can expect to satisfy a request for conditional release. Or, by a court decision, in eight years, a citizen may be granted preferential conditions of serving as a leave for forty-five days or for performing activities outside the correctional facility.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, does not allow conditional release for convicts, although the right to file an appeal of release exists. Since 1940, only two people have been released from the colony in the state who were terminally ill.