Those who advocate for the restoration of the death penalty should be gifted a copy of the constitution — Odiljon Tojiyev

Earlier, Alisher Kadirov, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis and leader of the "National Revival" Democratic Party faction, expressed his view that those responsible for the death of an innocent child in the Yashnabad district of Tashkent do not deserve to live. However, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber Odiljon Tojiyev disagreed with his faction colleague's stance. He shared his thoughts on his social media page.

"The claim that those responsible for the death of an innocent child do not deserve to live is akin to saying 'the death penalty should be reinstated.' While this proposal might seem just and reasonable at first glance, I completely disagree with it," Tojiyev wrote.

The deputy explained his position with the following reasons:

Firstly, the death penalty could lead to the irrevocable loss of innocent lives due to potentially biased investigations or incorrect verdicts. History is a living witness. No matter how fair a court decision may seem, there have been numerous cases where, years later, the actual criminal turned out to be someone entirely different. For example, Andrei Chikatilo, a cannibal, was initially blamed for a murder that led to another person being sentenced to death.

Secondly, the death penalty does not affect the crime rate. One of the effective means of deterring crime is not the severity of the punishment but its inevitability.

"Furthermore, if we impose the death penalty on a murderer who ended another person's life, we are no different from that savage. I believe the state does not have the right to take a life it did not give. Life is a natural right!" said Odiljon Tojiyev.

The Deputy Speaker recommended gifting a copy of the Constitution to those who advocate for the restoration of the death penalty.