From 1935 to Estonia's incorporation into the
Soviet Union in 1940, inmates condemned by civilian courts were given a choice to die either by poison-induced suicide or by hanging, as outlined in the Criminal Procedure Code (which took effect on 1 February 1935): ''"One hour before the scheduled time of the execution, the condemned shall be taken to a death cell, where the state prosecutor will read the death sentence and ask the prisoner whether he is willing to commit suicide. If the answer is in the affirmative, the prosecutor will hand the condemned a glass of poison—the kind of poison to be determined by the National Health Board. If the doomed man fails to take the poison within five minutes he will be hanged.'"'' Military executions were carried out by a
firing squad.
During the Soviet era, the method of execution became a
single shot by firearm to the back of the head. The last
execution in
Estonia took place on 11 September 1991 when Rein Oruste, convicted of
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
s, was
shot in the back of the head at
Patarei Prison. The death penalty was completely abolished in Estonia on 18 March 1998 when Protocol No. 6 to the
ECHR was signed.
Poll
In 2015, a poll found 70% of Estonians in favor of the death penalty. This was an increase of support from 62% in a 2010 poll.
References
External links
* http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2311219
* https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4ZsNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bC4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2039,1857882&dq=esthonia+hanged+poison&hl=en
Law of Estonia
Estoni
Death in Estonia
Human rights abuses in Estonia
1998 disestablishments in Estonia
{{Europe-law-stub