A committee of Russia's lower house of parliament said...

A committee of Russia's lower house of parliament said that it planned to propose replacing death with life imprisonment as the penalty for murder, high treason and other serious crimes.
Pavel Krasheninnikov, chairman of the State Duma's Legislation Committee, which is planning to propose amendments to that effect to the criminal code [in December], reminded a news conference in Moscow that, although the law still makes provision for it, the death penalty cannot be applied in Russia today, since the president and Constitutional Court have declared a moratorium on it.
"These days, no one can be sentenced to death, and it's impossible to execute such a sentence," Krasheninnikov said.
He also insisted that Russia meet its commitment to abolish capital punishment, which it made when it joined the Council of Europe. Moreover, "the existence of the death penalty does not affect the crime rate in society," he said.
Asked whether Chechen rebel leader Salman Raduyev, who is accused of terrorism and is now on trial in Russia, might be sentenced to death as an exception, Krasheninnikov said he considered it wrong "to change legislation for any specific individual or situation."