Proposal to Lessen Life Imprisonment in Ukraine

The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group reports that a bill to decrease life imprisonment sentences was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada by People’s Deputies Viktor Chumak and Iryna Lutsenko.

Its authors note in that, in their reasoning, the “right conditions to house those sentenced to life imprisonment have not yet been created, and in contrast to all other forms of punishment, life imprisonment has a unique property, a constant increase in the number of convicted persons (an average of 100 people a year).”

As determined by specialists on international standards of the treatment of prisoners, the decision as to whether the life-long convict is a threat to society is always controversial. It is therefore important to develop a fair and humane procedure to assess the readiness of a life sentenced prisoner for the release.

It is proposed that those currently sentenced to life in prison will have the time they have spent in prison count as time served towards a lighter sentence. After a long stay behind bars, people become de-socialized. Mitigating punishments will also lessen the problems that may come from parole commissions releasing prisoners who are not yet ready to live life outside of prison.

The Central Scientific Experts Office, having analyzed the proposed amendments to Articles 81, 82 and 87 of the Criminal Code, noted that “in the case of passage of the law, there may be a situation where a significant portion of those convicted of the most serious crimes will serve the same punishment as the perpetrators of less socially dangerous acts. That can hardly be considered just nor an appropriate legal step.”

But, according to human rights activists, these legislative changes will help to reform the Ukrainian prison and law enforcement systems.