November 15, 2002 - 22:15 AMT
SPECIAL INSTITUTION FOR SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT TO BE CREATED IN ARMENIA
A special institution for the sentenced to life imprisonment will be created in Armenia in 2004. As stated by representative of the Armenian ministry of Justice Nikolay Arustamian, due to the moratorium for capital punishment introduced in Armenia in 1991, 42 convicts are awaiting for substitution for the verdict with life imprisonment. In his turn, advisor of the Armenian minister of internal affairs Nikolay Grigorian noted that in spite of the presence of an item on death penalty in the Criminal Code of the republic since 1961, the executioner's wage is not provided for. It is interesting that demanding implementation of death penalty the Armenian society holds negative attitudes towards hangman's profession, Grigorian noted. He also reported that according to the American specialists' calculations, a death penalty is 2.5 times more expensive than life maintenance of prisoners.