Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An: Need to add time for people sentenced to death to wait for execution

Delegate Tran Van Mao speaks at the parliament. Photo: Thanh Loan

Giving his opinion on the draft Law on Execution of Criminal Sentences, delegate Tran Van Mao, National Assembly delegate of Nghe An province, agreed with the provision in Article 33 of the draft law on the content that "prisons can coordinate with businesses, individuals or organizations to provide labor for prisoners both inside and outside prisons".

According to the delegate, Article 33 ensures labor rights and obligations according to the 2013 Constitution; in accordance with international treaties on human rights, including labor rights; in accordance with the Labor Code; the Penal Code and other relevant laws. It demonstrates an innovative viewpoint in organizing prisoner rehabilitation in prisons; creates conditions for prisoners to participate in labor in accordance with actual conditions and the capacity of detention facilities. In addition, it ensures additional income; reduces the burden of state budget costs for prisoner rehabilitation, helps prisoners integrate, improve, serve their sentences well and return to their families soon.

However, delegate Tran Van Mao expressed concerns about the feasibility or the potential for instability in the management of prisoners serving prison sentences. Prisoners serving prison sentences ensure that the purpose of punishment (educating criminals) is implemented in practice. For prisoners, education is carried out through many forms, including organizing labor for prisoners. Thus, prisoner labor is an educational measure and not aimed at creating material to serve the prisoners' lives.

Second, regarding the work of ensuring security and maintaining order: A difficulty and also a major long-term problem in the execution of prison sentences in detention facilities today is the situation of prisoners violating prison discipline, bringing prohibited items into detention, fighting and escaping from detention.

The Government's annual report on the execution of sentences to the National Assembly shows that every year the State allocates funds to equip technical equipment to serve the management of prisoner detention, but the situation of prisoners bringing prohibited items into prisons over the years has decreased but is still complicated. Thus, when organizing for prisoners to work outside the prison area, the issue of ensuring security and order, preventing prisoners from bringing prohibited items (even drugs, mobile phones, etc.) is complicated. If the State allocates funds to equip machinery to serve security control at production facilities associated with prisons for prisoners to work, it will be very difficult to do because it will increase investment costs compared to the efficiency achieved.

Regarding the execution of death sentences, delegates proposed to supplement the time for those sentenced to death to wait for execution. Because, in reality, many victims of death sentences are currently detained for too long because they have to wait for the President's decision to accept or not accept the request for clemency. According to the explanatory report of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the current problem in the execution of death sentences is due to the organization of implementation being inaccurate and unsatisfactory. Because the time for consideration, decision on appeal, retrial, review, appeal, and protest has been removed from the Law on Execution of Criminal Sentences stipulated in Article 367, but the implementation is too long and prolonged because there is currently no law stipulating the time limit for considering the President's request for clemency.