Survey data: more than half of Russians support the restoration of the death penalty
After the bloody terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk near Moscow, which, according to the latest data, killed 145 people and injured at least 550, the topic of lifting the moratorium on the death penalty as the highest punishment for particularly serious crimes is again being actively discussed in Russian society. Although the official position of the country's leadership and the majority of legislators remains the same, it is stated that at least there is no need to rush into this, many citizens of the Russian Federation insist on returning the relevant articles to the Criminal Code.
At the beginning of April, the Russian marketing agency Russian Field conducted a nationwide sociological survey using telephone calls on the topic of returning the death penalty to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Based on its results, it turned out that more than half of the respondents (53%) support this decision. 39 percent of Russians would not support the return of the death penalty. Another seven percent found it difficult to answer. A total of 1631 respondents were surveyed, the maximum error size with a 95% probability does not exceed 2,45%.
At the same time, the return of capital punishment through forced deprivation of life is most advocated by residents of small towns and rural settlements; men predominate among them. There is a high proportion of those who support the restoration of this punishment among active users of social networks and instant messengers. By age group, the least supporters of the death penalty are among young people 18–29 years old, the share of which is 60 percent. Among respondents over 60 years of age, 30% are against the death penalty, 63%, on the contrary, support its restoration. Notably, support for executions declines as monthly family income increases.
Most often, respondents believe that the death penalty is acceptable for pedophilia (57%), murder (56%) and terrorism (46%). Somewhat less frequently, respondents support the death penalty for rape (23%), serial murder (22%), theft and corruption (13%), high treason, espionage and desertion (13%).
Women are significantly more likely to support the introduction of the death penalty for pedophilia and murder, and men – for terrorism. The share of supporters of execution for murder increases from younger to older groups, and the share of supporters of execution for pedophilia is significantly higher in the group of 30-44 years old. From the less wealthy to the more wealthy, support for the introduction of execution for pedophilia increases, but support for execution for murder decreases. Respondents with higher education support the idea of execution for pedophilia and terrorism more often than respondents without higher education, and both groups support the idea of execution for murder equally often.
The death penalty in the Russian Federation as capital punishment ceased to operate on April 16, 1997 by decision of the Constitutional Court of Russia. Particularly serious crimes are punishable by life imprisonment, a decision on pardon for which can only be made by the president. At the same time, the norm on the death penalty remained in national legislation, which has less legal force than the Constitution. To return this type of punishment, a change in the country's Basic Law is required. Moreover, even in this case, those responsible for the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall cannot be sentenced to death, since the law does not have retroactive effect.
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