Eighteen people were sentenced to death in Kazakhstan...

Eighteen people were sentenced to death in Kazakhstan in 2002. "The number of people sentenced to death is decreasing in Kazakhstan every year. Judges are very careful about the use of articles that envision the death penalty," the Kazakh Supreme Court's press service told Interfax on Monday. "As a result, in 2002, 18 people were sentenced to death, against 39 in 2001," the press service said. At the end of 2002, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a law containing amendments to legislation that mitigate punishment for some crimes. The amendments are aimed at reducing the number of people in prisons, increasing the use of measures not involving arrest, and also at making the penitentiary system more humane. Under the new version of the law, the death penalty will not be used for minors and people over the age of 65 and execution will not be carried out until one year from the date of the sentence. In 2002, the Kazakh president suggested declaring a moratorium on the death penalty and abolishing it altogether in the future. He has asked the corresponding structures to explore the possibility. Later, Kazakhstan officially said that it is not possible to declare a moratorium on the death penalty at this time, mainly for material and technical reasons. Current legislation envisions life in prison as an alternative to the death penalty, but the measure is on hold. As of late 2002, 65,693 people were in prison in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has a population of over 14.8 million.