death penalty news September 24, 2005
MOLDOVA: Moldovan Constitutional Court approves amendments to abolich death penalty The Moldovan Constitutional Court has approved constitutional amendments, which abolish the death penalty. The abolition of the death penalty is an obligatory condition of the Moldovan accession to the European Union, which is a priority of the Moldovan foreign policy, a source in the Constitutional Court press service said. Moldova abolished the death penalty before its accession to the Council of Europe in 1996, and the new Criminal Code saying nothing about the death penalty. However, the abolition was not legalized in the constitution, which, in the opinion of lawyers, allowed for death penalties on special occasions like wartime. Not a single death sentence was passed in independent Moldova, and not a single prisoner was executed. The republic has 69 lifetime inmates convicted for serial murders and other grave crimes. (source: Itar-Tass)
