Ukraine's parliament overwhelmingly approved a new...

Ukraine's parliament overwhelmingly approved a new criminal code, abolishing the death penalty. Under the long-awaited law, adopted by a vote of 379-3 with two abstentions, the most severe punishment for crimes is life imprisonment. This sentence however, can neither be applied to a person below the age of 18 or above 65, nor to women pregnant at the time of the crime or the sentencing. Ukraine promised to abolish the death penalty when it joined the Council of Europe in 1995, and imposed a moratorium on executions in March 1997.