DEATH FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
Dateline: Russia...

Neither cruel nor unusual....

Russian Supreme Court chairman says Russia should not resume death penalty

MOSCOW - Russia's Supreme Court chairman said Tuesday that the country should not revive the death penalty despite public support for its resumption. The moratorium was imposed in 1996 to gain entrance into Europe's leading human rights body, the Council of Europe.

Russia's lower house of parliament appealed to Putin earlier this year to resume executions because of soaring crime. Polls show that most Russians support the death penalty and believe it would act as a deterrent. But critics warn that reviving the death penalty would derail Russia's efforts to shed its repressive past.

Uncle Joe would be so proud.