In the ancient times and the Middle Ages, the death penalty was issued in Georgia for the crimes considered as especially heinous, such as treason, piracy, public insult of the king and etc. In 1170, King George III of Georgia also decreed a capital punishment for a "repeated theft". A number of methods were used for executions: hanging, strangulation, throwing off a cliff, burning alive and etc.^[2]

Tamar of Georgia was the first king to abolish the death penalty in Georgia. This was connected to the reduction of the theft and piracy in the kingdom during her reign due to increased general well-being as the Kingdom of Georgia became one of the strongest countries in the region. This abolition was supposedly retained until the second half of the 13th century, when the Mongols invaded Georgia.^[3]

In the 19th century Russian Georgia, Ilia Chavchavadze was one of the most prominent proponents of the abolition of death penalty. He campaigned for its abolition in the Russian Duma, based on what his wife appealed to the Tsarist authorities not to execute his murderers.^[4]

Article 19 of the Constitution of Georgian Democratic Republic abolished the death penalty in Georgia. However, this constitution was passed on 21 February 1921, only a few days before the Sovietization of Georgia.^[5]

Soviet Georgia edit

The socialist doctrine rejected the use of death penalty, and formally the Soviet criminal and penal theory gave preference to correction and re-education. However, death penalty was used throughout most of the Soviet history. The death penalty was referred to as an "exceptional measure of punishment" in force only until its "full abolition".^[6]

The first case in the registration archive department of the Georgian Cheka involved seven individuals who were accused by Cheka of appropriating foodstuffs. Three were sentenced to death and executed extrajudicially.^[7] A death penalty for hoarding was decreed by the government on 25 March 1921 to deal with the shortage of products, blamed on the speculation on behalf of merchants.^[8][9]

Between 1921 and 1924, many summery executions were carried out by Cheka against "counter-revolutionaries" such as Georgian military officers involved in the Committee for the Independence of Georgia.^[10] During the Great Purge in 1937-1938, the Special NKVD Troika of Georgian SSR (Особая Тройка при НКВД ГССР) tried more than 20 thousand people based on the NKVD Order No. 00447 for being “kulaks, criminals and other counter-revolutionary elements”.^[11] In October 1937, Lavrentiy Beria requested to delegate function of Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union to the local Special Troika, which meant a permission to consider cases against individuals accused of membership in "Trotskyist terrorist subversive-espionage organizations" and the "right-wing terrorist-subversive espionage organizations".^[12][13] This request was accepted. In overall, it is estimated that the Special Troika in Georgia sentenced to death more than 10,000 persons for various reasons.^[12] Additionally, the NKVD "National Troika" tried 1982 people, executing 432.^[14]

Death penalty in peacetime was abolished on 26 May 1947 by special edict of the highest legislative body, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, but it was restored on 12 May 1950 by the same organ.^[15] A death sentence was being issued by a bench of three judges, one of which was professional judge, while others were "people’s assessors". The sentence was passed by a majority vote. It was possible for convicts to appeal the decision except in cases where they were tried by the Georgian Supreme Court as a court of first instance. The decision could also be reduced by a judicial review in case of a protest by the relevant judicial authority. The Georgian Supreme Soviet or the USSR Supreme Soviet could also grant a clemency to a wrongdoer.^[16] Death penalty was not used against pregnant women and minors.^[4]

The Georgian Criminal Code of 1960 provided a possible capital punishment for 33 crimes.^[4] By 1991, the criminal code prescribed possible capital punishment for up to 30 crimes, including ones not involving the use of violence.^[17] From 1980 to 1991, 124 persons were sentenced to death, 65 of which were executed.^[18]

Post-Soviet years edit

The first post-Soviet years were characterized by the chequered approaches towards the practice of capital punishment in Georgia. Following a declaration of independence, Georgia continued to operate with the Soviet-are criminal code, which prescribed a possible death penalty for a number of crimes. On 20 March 1991, Georgia became the first former Soviet republic to take concrete steps to abolish the death penalty, with the parliament removing this possible punishment for four economic offences. In August, it was also abolished for two more offences. In 1992, the Georgian Military Council announced its intention to declare a moratorium on death penalties until adoption of a new criminal code. On 21 February 1992, Georgia restored the Constitution of Georgian Democratic Republic, which contained a provision abolishing the death penalty. However, the old criminal code remained effective, and it continued to provide for a death penalty. On 17 June 1992, the Georgian State Council issued a resolution, stating that the relevant bodies were decreed to draw up proposals to bring the existing legislation in line with the constitution, but before this, all legislation, including the one concerning the punishment and death penalty, remained in force until its amendment through the legislative means.^[19] Therefore, laws decreeing the death penalty remained in effect. The abolition ultimately was not incorporated into the Georgian legislation and the criminal code continued to provide for a death penalty. Therefore, the courts continued to issue death sentences. However, the judicial executions were no longer carried out. Therefore, there was a moratorium on judicial executions, but not on death sentences.^[20][21] On 3 August 1992, death sentence was abolished for 14 military crimes, most of which carried this possible punishment in cases of being committed in wartime or a combat situation. With the beginning of the War in Abkhazia, the local military tribunals, unauthorized by the Georgian government, were set up in the region and they carried out several executions.^[22] In March and July 1993, two new offences with possible death penalties – genocide and mercenary actions – were introduced in the criminal code. This was possibly related to the War in Abkhazia. On 2 November 1993, Eduard Shevardnadze issued a decree authorizing extrajudicial executions in cases of banditry and looting. This decree was issued in the context of violent armed conflicts in the country. On 7 November 1993, nine people were shoot dead for looting in Zugdidi.^[23] According to Tbilisi commandant, "several people" were summarily executed during a curfew in Tbilisi in November 1993 after refusing to present identification papers.^[24] In March 1994, the moratorium on judicial executions was lifted, and at least 14 people were executed before February 1995, most were for premeditated, aggravated murder. At the same time, at least 20 death sentences were commuted.^[25]

In February 1995, under a tacit agreement, the Clemency Commission suspended any discussions of any petition for clemency in cases of death sentence. This hindered a procedure for execution of death sentences since the cases could no longer reach President, whose final decision was necessary for the death penalty to be carried out. This meant a de facto moratorium on death penalty. Georgia's new constitution, passed in August 1995, retained a death penalty as an "exceptional measure of punishment... for the commission of especially serious crimes against life". On 11 December 1996, the Parliament abolished capital punishment for 11 crimes. As of February 1997, a criminal code prescribed a possible death sentence for only 7 crimes. Instead of death penalty, a new category – life imprisonment was introduced in the legislation. On 10 December 1996, Eduard Shevardnadze declared an official moratorium on executions, saying that the abolition of capital punishment would be necessary for Georgia's accession to the Council of Europe.^[26] However, the courts continued to hand over the death sentences in this period, albeit they remained unenforced. Since the large number of death sentences was issued for premeditated, aggravated murder, an abolition of this possible punishment for other crimes made no signification statistical difference. As of February 1997, 51 people were held on death row in prison, in a condition described by the Human Rights Commissioner Aleksandr Kavsadze as "defying description".^[27]

Besides other violations of the due legal process, law enforcement officials were often reported to use torture and other violence, particularly to extract confession from defendants. The death sentences were issued in cases of political prisoners, such as supporters of violently deposed President Zviad Gamsakhurdia defeated by the post-coup government of Eduard Shevardnadze in the civil war. Prominent death sentences included that passed on Badri Zarandia and Loti Kobalia, Gamsakhurdia loyalists, and that passed on Davit Otiashvili, a member of formerly pro-Shevardnadze Mkhedrioni militia, which was disbanded by Shevardnadze in 1995.^[28]

In July 1997, President Shevardnadze commuted the death sentences of all prisoners awaiting the execution, including Kobalia, Zarandia and other Gamsakhurdia loyalists, with their sentences being reduced to 20 years' imprisonment.^[29] On 11 November 1997, the Parliament of Georgia abolished death penalty for all crimes in the Georgia's criminal code. Georgia became a second post-Soviet country – after Moldova – to put an end to the death sentences. This abolition was further reinforced by the signing of the Protocol 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights. Later Georgia also adopted the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR. ^[30] Despite this, a constitutional provision authorizing the introduction of a capital punishment for exceptional cases still remained in force.^[31]

On 27 December 2006, the Parliament of Georgia passed a constitutional amendment, banning the death penalty in the constitution.^[31]

Debate edit

There was a public debate in the 1990s over whether a death penalty should have been retained or abolished. Much of the concern was related to the increase of violent crime and the ineffectiveness of the judicial and law-enforcement agencies. The criminal groups often were able to free their members from prison through use of force. People often carried out justice itself against the wrongdoers, and as such, the suspects were often stoned.^[32] Also, the majority of the population considered the death penalty necessary as a deterrent for future crimes. According to a former MP Elene Tevdoradze, by the time of the abolition of death penalty in 1997, around half of the population supported it, while the other half did not.^[4] Zurab Zhvania, then chairman of the Georgian parliament, was one of the major supporters of the abolition. However, the opposition was more critical, with the Georgian Labor Party leader Shalva Natelashvili suggesting that the abolition of the capital punishment could possibly cause a spike in lynching. A leader of the Socialist Party, Vakhtang Rcheulishvili, questioned the motives behind the law, such as Georgia’s accession to the Council of Europe, saying that Georgia had no alternative system to replace the capital punishment, and that it would have been better for Georgia to follow its own national interests rather than the Council of Europe. Zurab Zhvania, on the other handed, suggested that the abolition of capital punishment stemmed from Georgia's "long-standing traditions", while Ilia Chavchavadze's opposition to the capital punishment was also often cited by its opponents.^[4]

On 10 December 1996, President Eduard Shevardnadze, a day before announcing an official moratorium on capital punishment, addressed the MPs with his letter:

The protection of human rights in Georgia is based on the humane traditions of our people and is guaranteed by the new Georgian Constitution. The supreme human right is the right to life. This is given to humans by God but it should be protected by the state.^[33]

However, in August 2003, Shevardnadze expressed a regret over a decision to abolish a death penalty. He said that if it were not for problems with the Council of Europe, Georgia would not have abolished the death penalty, adding that the criminals "lost fear" after its abolition. It has been suggested that with this statement the President was giving a go-ahead to the Interior Ministry that had been asking for harsher laws against the crime for a long time.^[34]

Until 1991, the Criminal Code of Georgian SSR provided a capital punishment for 30 crimes. These crimes were:^[35][36][37]

• Article 82: Evading mobilization (Death penalty abolished on 2 August 1991)
• Article 88: Making or passing counterfeit money or securities (Death penalty abolished on 20 March 1991)
• Article 89: Violating the rules of currency transactions (Death penalty abolished on 20 March 1991)
• Article 96-1: Theft of state or social property on an especially large scale (Death penalty abolished on 20 March 1991)
• Article 189: Taking a bribe (Death penalty abolished on 20 March 1991)
• Article 242-2: Hijacking of an aircraft (Death penalty abolished on 2 August 1991)
• Article 256: Insubordination (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 260: Using foce against a superior (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 265: Desertion (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 266: Unwarranted abandonment of a unit in a combat situation (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 269: Intentional destruction or damaging of military property (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 273: Violating the service regulations for guard duty (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 275: Violating the rules for performing combat lookout (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 278: Abuse of authority, exceeding authority, and neglectful attitude toward duty (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 279: Surrendering or abandoning to the enemy means of waging war (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 280: Abandonment of a sinking warship (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 281: Unwarranted abandonment of a battlefield or refusal to use a weapon (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 282: Voluntary surrender into captivity (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 284: Pillage (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 285: Using force against the population in an area of military operations (Death penalty abolished on 3 August 1992)
• Article 65: Treason (Death penalty abolished on 1 February 1997)
• Article 66: Espionage (Death penalty abolished on 1 February 1997)
• Article 67: Terrorist acts (Death penalty abolished on 11 November 1997)
• Article 68: Terrorist acts against a representative of a foreign state (Death penalty abolished on 11 November 1997)
• Article 69: Sabotage (Death penalty abolished on 11 November 1997)
• Article 78: Banditism (Death penalty abolished on 1 February 1997)
• Article 78-1: Actions disrupting the work of corrective labour institutions (Death penalty abolished on 1 February 1997)
• Article 104: Premeditated, aggravated murder (Death penalty abolished on 11 November 1997)
• Article 117: Rape (Death penalty abolished on 1 February 1997)
• Article 209-1: Attempt on the life of a police officer or people's guard (Death penalty abolished on 11 November 1997)
• Article 258: Resisting a superior or compelling him to violate official duties (Death penalty abolished on 11 November 1997)

Capital crimes introduced in 1993:

• Article 66-1: Participation by mercenaries in armed conflict or in combat action (Death penalty introduced on 17 March 1993, abolished on 1 February 1997)
• Article 65-1: Genocide (Death penalty introduced on 8 July 1993, abolished on 11 November 1997)

• Republic of Georgia: Death Penalty— Update (PDF). Amnesty International. January 1994.
• Svanidze, Eric (2004). "Georgia: Managing Abolition". In Hodgkinson, Peter; Schabas, William (eds.). Capital Punishment: Strategies for Abolition. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139449595.
• Georgia: Time to Abolish the Death Penalty (PDF). Amnesty International. January 1997.