NationStates Jolt Archive

Use of capital punishment decreased, criminals get increased rights

CPF (COTLANDSTAD): In a shocking press release today, Emperor Thomas announced that he would cut down on capital punishment and increase the rights of the criminals. This comes only weeks after a bloody riot in Perm Detention Center where sixty inmates were killed after having rioted for increased rights for the criminals.

The changes include the reduction of executions and rather sentence the people to X years of hard labor. Capital punishment will still be used in cases such as treason, murder, rape, terrorism, piracy, corruption and illegal entry for the third time in Cotland. The Empire will also end the use of minefields and gorillas as tools of execution, favoring the good ol' rope or "Old Sparky". The mines will be reused on the border, and the rape-murdering gorillas will be repatriated to the wild (or to the Zoo if repatriation is unsuccessful). Captial punishment in the Imperial Armed Forces will remain the same as always.

Criminal rights will also be extended so that no person being interrogiated can be tortured without there being extremely good reasons. They will also have the right to speak with a barrister within 72 hours, as opposed to the former 168. Police officers will not be allowed to beat a confession out of the suspects untill their guilt has been confirmed. Sentenced criminals will also be granted medical checkups once a week, as opposed to the annual medical checkup formerly in use.

The Emperor was clear that the use of capital punishment isn't as discouraging as the Government wish. Therefore the increase of hard labor will hopefully serve as a stronger deterent for the would-be criminals. People are still liable to get shot by the police if they pose an immediate threath to the safety of the Empire though.

:bump:

Credonia applauds this act of goodness towards the people of Cotland, however, we are perplexed to the statement that said: "Criminal rights will also be extended so that no person being interrogiated can be tortured without there being extremely good reasons." What constitutes a "good reason"? And what safeguards will there be to ensure that any old reason isnt made up?

Good reasons are for instance matters that concern the immediate national security of Cotland, location of kidnapped children, etc. Safeguards are that the only people allowed to use torture are members of the Federal Police (who have a office in every medium and large city in Cotland). There are also cameras in each interrigation room, and all torture is reviewed carefully afterwards. If it is found that there aren't good enough reasons, the person responsible for ordering / carrying out the torture will face certain consequences that we don't wish to go closer into at present.

Regards,
Imperial Government of Cotland

Cottish prisons tend to be large structures, but there are not many of them to be seen. That does not mean that they don't exist though. The Cottish Prison Board have concluded that the majority of escaped occur when the prisoners can see the freedom. Therefore they have arranged for prisons to not have any windows for the prisoners to see through. Not that they need them though, because the Prison Board also arranged for all new prisons to be constructed well below ground, or inside mountains. This has been done in order to ensure that no prisoner is given a chance to escape. When the prisoners come out in the day to do as they have been punished to (hard labor), they are shackled and branded with an electronic device that allows the Prison Authorities to see where every prisoner is at any given time. This has helped greatly to reduce escapes.

Below we have a few pictures of cells that the prisoners reside in, and an excrept from the Prison Rules, standard in all Cottish prisons.


http://www.gracemillennium.com/sojourn/spring99/graphics/jailfinal.jpg
Prison-cell for prisoners which has shown good behavior. Fits one prisoner.

http://www.vg.no/bilder/bildarkiv/1117624877.22438.jpg
Prison-cell for normal prisoners. Takes one prisoner.

http://users.iglide.net/gday/PrisonCell.jpg
Prison-cell for prisoners with bad behavior (solitary confinment)



Rules in Cottish prisons

6) Prisoners shall respect the Emperor and his subordinates. They shall say nothing foul against the Emperor, his subordinates or the Empire. If disrespect is detected, it will be severely punished.

31) No talking whatsoever. Talking with eachother is severely punished.

82) The prisoners are fed only the regulated meals (usually dry bread and water). Any attempts to bring in food to the cells are severely punished.

103) Every prisoner shall be in his cell for no more then eight hours of the day, unless he has been sentenced to death. Prisoners shall be out and work for a minimum of twelve hours per day.

115) Punishments include
- sleep deptivation
- loss of food, water for a finite amount of time
- physical punishment
- solitary confinement

176) Any attempts of escape or assault on prisonguards shall be punishable by immediate execution of the prisoner and two other prisoners (randomly selected).

Are all of the prisoners among those to be possibly executed in case of attempt to escape? Meaning, if massmurderer tries to escape, man who steals cars can be killed?

I see that there are some confusion here. The escapee will be summarly executed, along with two other prisoners randomly selected from his cellblock (bank robbers are not in the same cellblocks as car robbers. They are in the same cellblock as others that has committed similar crimes, IE car robbers with car robbers, bank robbers with bank robbers, etc). Mass murderers are not imprisoned for long enough to escape, since they are executed less then a week after having been found guilty anyway. I hope that this answers your question.

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