In December 1996, the Estonian Parliament adopted an...

In December 1996, the Estonian Parliament adopted an amendment to the Criminal Code introducing life imprisonment as an alternative to the death sentence. This reform enabled the Parliament to vote in favor of ratification of Protocol No. 6, which was carried out on April 17, 1998, thereby entirely abolishing the death penalty in peacetime. The sentences of the 8 prisoners on death row were commuted to life imprisonment.