7 types of exemption from punishment in Criminal Law

Exemption from criminal punishment means certain concessions for the convicted person.
Many people are interested in how to apply articles that imply evasion of liability legally? How does the procedure take place and what documents are needed to initiate it? A lawyer should know all this, but you can familiarize yourself with this institution of legal relations on your own. Multi-channel free hotline Legal advice on criminal law. Every day from 9.00 to 21.00

Moscow and region: +7 (495) 662-44-36

St. Petersburg: +7 (812) 449-43-40

Concepts and types of liberation

The concept of exemption from punishment in criminal law is an independent part that the court takes into account after the main sentence is passed. Guided by the points that make it possible to apply articles to the convicted person under which leniency may be granted to him, the court decides on the advisability of such a decision.

In essence, release from punishment implies the achievement of the goal, which is expressed in the fact that the state saves time and resources necessary for the implementation of isolation and provides the prisoner with the opportunity to reform and thus encourages him if the prisoner, by his behavior and actions, gives reason to believe that he will reform and without restriction of freedom.

Today, a convicted person can count on certain types of evasion from criminal liability.

• grant of parole;
• in connection with a change in the degree of public danger to the person of the convicted person or the situation;
• because of illness;
• deferment;
• due to the expiration of the statute of limitations;
• amnesty;
• pardon.

The letter of the law says that any application of the law must be justified, that is, it can only be applied if there are appropriate grounds. In the event that it is necessary to carry out a procedure for the release of a person, a number of laws are applied that allow this procedure to be carried out. That is, in order to release a convicted person, it is necessary to determine what changes have occurred to him and, based on these facts, apply an article of the law that allows him to change the sentence.

Exemption from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations on the conviction.

In criminal legislation, there is the institution of statute of limitations of a conviction, which means the expiration of the terms established by law, after which the conviction passed by the court cannot be carried out and the convicted person is released from serving the sentence assigned to him.

The length of the statute of limitations for the execution of a conviction is directly dependent on the danger of the crime committed. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has chosen the following indicator of the danger of the crime committed - its belonging to a certain category of crimes, which seems more rational.

A person convicted of committing a crime is released from serving a sentence if the court’s conviction was not carried out within the following periods, calculated from the date the sentence entered into legal force:

a) two years if convicted of a crime of minor gravity;

b) six years if convicted of a crime of average gravity;

c) ten years if convicted of a serious crime;

d) fifteen years if convicted of a particularly serious crime (Part 1 of Article 83 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

The expiration of the specified periods excludes the execution of a conviction under the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation only on the condition that the statute of limitations has not been violated. However, the law provides for the possibility of suspending the statute of limitations if a convicted person evades serving his sentence. Evasion can be expressed in the fact that the convicted person will hide from the court before the sentence is executed, willfully leave the place of serving correctional labor, or will escape from the place of deprivation of liberty, etc.

The term stops running for the time of evasion from serving the sentence, its flow is resumed from the moment of detention of the convicted person or his voluntary surrender to serve the sentence. The time elapsed from the moment the court’s conviction came into force until the convicted person evaded serving his sentence is counted towards the statute of limitations (Part 2 of Article 83 of the Criminal Code).

Exemption from serving a sentence due to the expiration of the statute of limitations on a conviction is final and unconditional, since it cannot be canceled for any reason. Statutes of limitations do not apply to persons convicted of committing the most dangerous crimes against the peace and security of mankind: planning, preparing, unleashing or waging an aggressive war (Article 353 of the Criminal Code); use of prohibited means and methods of warfare (Article 356 of the Criminal Code); genocide (Article 357 of the Criminal Code); ecocide (Article 358 of the Criminal Code).

Grant of parole

If positive changes occur to him while a prisoner is serving his sentence, then his remaining sentence can be changed to a more lenient one. During his stay in a correctional institution, a prisoner must distinguish himself by exemplary behavior, compensate for material damage, if it was assigned, and spend a certain time in a correctional institution, depending on the qualifications of his case. After a person is released, law enforcement control is established over him until the full time of departure has expired.

During this time, it is impossible to violate the law, since then for the state the person will be considered uncorrected, which means that the lenient sentence will be canceled and he will have to be served in a correctional institution.

Replacing the remaining time with a softer look. In the legislation, there are different degrees of qualification of a criminal case, for example, a serious article or an article of moderate gravity.

1. Colony-settlement.
2. General regime colony.
3. A maximum security colony.

Each institution has its own rules; in a maximum security colony, the rules of conduct for a prisoner are strict: he does not have the right to private meetings or the right to frequently receive parcels.

When serving part of the assigned period of isolation, as well as when certain grounds arise, the prisoner has the right to change the type of responsibility. If the court decides that the data provided may allow the convict to serve correction under more lenient conditions, then the convict is transferred to a correctional institution of the appropriate type, and service continues.

In essence, the prisoner receives grounds for easing the conditions of detention and more frequent meetings with relatives, but the total term determined by the court as a measure for his crime remains the same.

Exemption from liability due to illness

During the term of serving a sentence, a person is kept in fairly harsh conditions, as a result of which his health may deteriorate, both physical and mental.

1. Softer types.
2. He may be entitled to a complete cessation of persecution.

In the case of mental disorders, a person is most often transferred to special psychiatric hospitals, since such a patient poses a danger to society, although he may not realize it.

In other cases, a person is released because a correctional colony is not suitable for housing people with disabilities, and also if it is difficult for them to receive the necessary treatment that is prescribed. A prisoner with special illnesses may not be released, but the sentence may be commuted to a more lenient form if the illness suggests such a need.

The possibility of replacing the term with a more lenient one is always determined by the court, this case is no exception. To carry out the process, the prisoner must comply with a certain procedure established by the state: submit a request to replace the punishment with a more lenient form, provide evidence of his correction, characteristics from the correctional institution and other documents indicating the possibility of replacement.

Exemption from punishment

1. Exemption from punishment is considered to be the release of a person found guilty by the court from:

• punishment approved for committing a crime;
• truthful serving of the assigned sentence;
• next serving of the assigned sentence.

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the following types of exemption from punishment:

• probation;
• conditional early release from serving a sentence;
• replacement of the unserved part of the sentence with a more lenient type of punishment;
• freedom from punishment due to changes in the situation;
• freedom from punishment due to illness;
• freedom from serving a sentence due to the expiration of the statute of limitations on a court conviction;
• freedom from punishment on the basis of acts of amnesty or pardon;
• delay in serving sentences for pregnant women and women with young children;
• freedom of minors from punishment with the use of compulsory educational measures or placement in a special educational institution.

Some types of release from punishment are conditional (conditional conviction, conditional early release from serving a sentence, deferment of serving a sentence for pregnant women and women with young children), others are unconditional.

The application of certain types of exemption from punishment is the right of the court (replacement of the unserved part of the punishment with a milder type of punishment, freedom from punishment due to another serious illness, delay in serving the sentence for pregnant women and women with young children), the application of others is the responsibility of the court.

2. Conditional sentence (Articles 73, 74 of the Criminal Code). Reasons for use:

• firstly, the need determined by the court to correct the convicted person without actually serving the sentence;
• secondly, sentencing the guilty person to correctional labor, deprivation of military service, imprisonment, detention in a disciplinary military unit or imprisonment (for a term of up to eight years).

When rendering a suspended sentence of imprisonment, the type of correctional institution is not indicated.

If the court comes to the conclusion that it is possible to impose a suspended sentence on a person who has committed two or more crimes, such a decision is made not for each crime, but when finally imposing punishment for a set of crimes.

Considering that, according to Part 4 of Art. 73 of the Criminal Code, in case of a suspended sentence, additional punishments may be imposed; only the main punishment can be recognized as suspended. Special attention is paid to this. Special punishments are carried out in reality. This should be noted in the operative part of the normative sentence.

In case of a suspended sentence, the court establishes a certain trial , during which the convicted person must prove his correction by his behavior, for a period of:

• not less than six months and not more than three years (in case of imposition of imprisonment for a term of up to one year or a more lenient punishment);
• not less than six months and not more than five years (in case of imposition of imprisonment for a term of more than one year).

During a certain probationary period, a convicted person may be assigned the following duties:

• specific responsibilities:
• without changing the permanent place of residence, work, study without notifying the specialized state body carrying out the correction;
• without visiting certain places;
• undergoing treatment for alcoholism, drug addiction, substance abuse or a sexually transmitted disease;
• providing financial support to the family;
• other obligations that contribute to the correction of the convicted person.

Within the meaning of the criminal law the probationary period assigned during a suspended sentence is calculated from the moment the verdict is announced, since this court decision imposes on the convicted person the obligation to prove his correction by his behavior, regardless of appealing the court verdict in an appeal or cassation procedure. Leaving the sentence unchanged means confirming its legality from the period specified in the sentence.

When applying a suspended sentence, after the proclamation of a normative sentence, the presiding officer explains to the convicted person the importance of the probationary period and warns about the consequences of committing a new crime or systematic violations of public order (for military personnel - and military law and order) during the probationary period, as well as significant violations of the duties assigned to him , if any were assigned. Thus, these explanations and warnings must be reflected in the minutes of the court hearing.

During the probationary period , upon the proposal of the body exercising control over the behavior of the convicted person (a specialized government body or the command of military units and institutions), the court may:

• cancel (in whole or in part) the duties previously established for the convicted person;
• supplement the duties previously established for the convicted person.

Upon the proposal of the body exercising control over the convicted person, the court may decide to cancel the suspended sentence and remove his early criminal record if at least half of the established probation period has ended and the convicted person has proven his correction by his behavior (Article 74 of the Criminal Code).

The court, upon the proposal of the body exercising control over the correct behavior of the convicted person, may extend the probationary period for no more than one year if:

• the convicted person refused to perform the duties assigned to him or
• violated public order, for which an administrative penalty was imposed on him.

Upon the proposal of the body exercising control over the convicted person, the court may rule on the cancellation of the suspended sentence and the execution of the sentence imposed by the court in the event of failure (systematic or malicious) during the probationary period by the convicted person to fulfill the duties assigned to him or in the event that the conditionally convicted person has escaped from criminal control.

At the same time, systematicity is understood as the conscious commission of prohibited actions or failure to perform actions prescribed to a conditionally convicted person more than twice during the year or prolonged (more than thirty days) failure to fulfill the duties assigned to him by the court, and maliciousness means failure to fulfill these duties after a written warning given by the supervisory authority. on the inadmissibility of repeated violation of the established procedure for serving a suspended sentence, or when a suspended sentenced person has escaped from state control and his whereabouts have not been established for more than thirty days (Article 190 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation).

If a convicted person commits a careless crime or an intentional crime of minor gravity during the probationary period, the court makes a decision:

• on the revocation of a suspended sentence or
• to maintain the suspended sentence.

of minor gravity during the probationary period , it is necessary to take into account the nature and degree of public danger of the first and second crimes, as well as information about the identity of the convicted person and his behavior during the probationary period. Special attention is paid to this. If necessary, to establish such data, a representative of the body exercising control over the behavior of the conditionally convicted person may be called to the court hearing.

If the convicted person commits another intentional crime (of moderate gravity, serious or especially serious) during the probationary period, the court revokes the suspended sentence and imposes punishment according to the relevant rules on the total number of sentences.

According to the Determination of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of November 4, 2004 No. 342-O, the provisions of Part 1 of Art. 74 of the Criminal Code (“Cancellation of a conditional sentence or extension of the probationary period”) do not prevent a conditionally convicted person from applying to the court with a petition to cancel the conditional sentence and expunge a criminal record and imply the obligation of the court to consider this petition on the merits, regardless of the presence of a representation from the body monitoring the behavior of the probationer convicted on this issue.

3. Conditional early release from punishment (Article 79 of the Criminal Code). Applicable upon release from serving:

• detention in a disciplinary military unit;
• imprisonment.

With conditional early release, a person can be fully or partially released from a special type of punishment. If the additional punishment is executed (sanctions are imposed, the person is deprived of a special, military or honorary title, class rank, state awards), the issue of releasing the convicted person from this additional punishment should not be resolved. Let us pay special attention to this.

In case of partial execution and additional punishment (part of the fine has been collected), the court has the right to decide the issue of incomplete or complete release of the person from the rest of the special punishment. In other cases, when a special punishment (for example, deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities) was not executed, the court has the right to grant freedom to the convicted person completely or not. This court decision on this issue must be stated in the operative part of the decision.

Thus, the court may impose on the convicted person the duties provided for under a suspended sentence, which he must fulfill during the remaining unserved part of the sentence.

Courts do not have the right to refuse parole from serving a sentence (or replacing the unserved part of a sentence with a more lenient punishment) on grounds not specified in the law, such as the presence of a previous criminal record, the leniency of the imposed punishment, the convict’s non-admission of guilt, the short duration of his stay in prison. one of the correctional institutions and so on. Special attention is paid to this. Penalties imposed on the convicted person for the entire period of serving the sentence, taking into account the specific nature of the violations committed, are subject to a thorough assessment by the court in combination with other data characterizing it. Thus, in this case, the presence or absence of a penalty for a convicted person cannot serve as either an obstacle or a sure basis for his parole or replacement of the unserved part of the sentence with a more lenient type of punishment.

The grounds for conditional early release from punishment are the person serving part of the sentence imposed and the court recognizing that the convicted person does not need to serve the full sentence imposed by the court for his correction. Conditional early release may be applied after the convicted person has actually served at least:

• 1/3 of the sentence imposed for a crime of minor or medium gravity;
• 1/2 of the sentence imposed for a serious crime;
• 2/3 of the sentence imposed for a particularly serious crime, as well as the punishment assigned to a person who was previously released on parole;
• 3/4 of the sentence imposed for crimes against the sexual integrity of minors.

Conditional early release from imprisonment is applied after the person has actually served at least 6 months.

The actual serving by a convicted person of the legally prescribed part of the sentence cannot serve as an unconditional basis for parole (or replacement of the unserved part of the sentence with a more lenient punishment).

The court’s conclusion that a convicted person, for his correct correction, does not need to fully serve a specific sentence imposed by the court (or deserves to replace the unserved part of the sentence with a more lenient punishment) must be based on a comprehensive accounting of clear data on his behavior for the entire period of serving the sentence, and not only for the time immediately preceding the consideration of the petition or presentation. Special attention is paid to this. In this case, the court should take into account the different opinions of the representative of the correctional institution and the prosecutor on the presence or absence of grounds for recognizing the person as not in need of further serving the sentence or replacing the unserved part of the sentence with a more lenient type of punishment.

Serving at least 25 years of imprisonment is the basis for the parole of a person sentenced to life imprisonment . The second basis is the conviction of the court that the person does not need to further serve this sentence. The third basis is the absence of malicious violations of the established procedure for serving the sentence by the convicted person during the previous 3 years.

A person who has committed a new grave or especially grave crime while serving a life imprisonment is not subject to .

The basis for the cancellation of parole and the execution of the remaining unserved part of the sentence is a violation of social order, for which an administrative penalty was imposed on the person or malicious evasion of the duties assigned by the court.

Malicious evasion from fulfilling the duties assigned by the court to a convicted person should be understood as repeated failure to fulfill such duties after a special body monitoring the behavior of the convicted person has issued a written warning about the possibility of revoking parole. Special attention is paid to this. At the same time, the question of whether the evasion from fulfilling the duties assigned by the court to the convicted person is malicious must be decided in each specific case, taking into account its duration and the reasons for the evasion, as well as other circumstances of the case.

The commission of a reckless crime is grounds for the purpose of terminating parole or maintaining parole.

The commission of an intentional crime is the basis for the revocation of parole and the imposition of punishment according to special rules on the total number of sentences.

A person who falls ill after committing a crime with a serious illness that prevents him from serving his sentence (Part 2 of Article 81 of the Criminal Code) may be released by the court from serving a particular sentence. In this case, the basis for exemption from punishment due to illness is the presence of one of the diseases included in the approved Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 54 of February 6, 2004. The list of diseases that prevent the serving of a sentence if inpatient treatment does not produce positive results, which must be confirmed by the commission medical report.

4. Replacement of the unserved part of the punishment with a milder type of punishment (Article 80 of the Criminal Code).

Reasons for use:

• serving part of the term of restriction of a particular freedom, detention in a disciplinary military unit or imprisonment (at least 1/3 - for a crime of minor or moderate gravity, 1/2 - for a serious crime, 2/3 - for a particularly serious crime, 3/ 4 – for crimes against the sexual integrity of minors);
• correct behavior of a person while serving a sentence. A person may be released (in whole or in part) from serving an additional type of sentence.

5. Exemption from punishment due to a change in the situation (Article 80.1 of the Criminal Code).

Grounds for application : the first commission of a crime of minor or moderate gravity and the disappearance due to a change in the situation of public danger of the person or the crime he committed.

6. Exemption from punishment due to illness (Article 81 of the Criminal Code).

Reasons for use:

• a mental disorder that deprives the perpetrator, after committing a crime, of the opportunity to realize the actual nature and danger to society of his act or to control it;
• another serious illness that prevents serving the sentence;
• any disease that makes a soldier serving arrest or detention in a disciplinary military unit unfit for military service.

If the first reason is present, the person is released from punishment (from further serving it) and the court can impose compulsory medical measures on him. Special attention is paid to this. If there is a second such ground, the person may be released from serving the sentence. In both cases, if the person has recovered, he may be subject to criminal liability and special punishment (within the statute of limitations).

If there is a third reason, the person is released from further serving a particular punishment, and the unserved part of the punishment can be replaced with a more lenient type of punishment.

7. Deferment of serving sentences for pregnant women and women with young children (Article 82 of the Criminal Code) . The court may postpone the actual serving:

• compulsory work;
• correctional labor;
• restrictions on freedom;
• imprisonment.

Reasons for use:

• a woman in a special position;
• the convicted woman has children under 14 years of age.

When deciding on the deferment of serving a sentence for convicted pregnant women and women with children under the age of 14 who are sentenced to actual imprisonment, the courts need to take into account the different opinions of the administration of the institution executing the sentence on the deferment of serving a sentence for a convicted woman, her characteristics, information about consent of relatives to accept a convicted woman with a child, provide them with housing and the necessary conditions for living, or information about her availability of housing and the necessary conditions for living with a child, a certificate of the presence of a child or a medical report about pregnancy, as well as other data contained in the personal file convicted Let us pay special attention to this. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the living conditions of the convicted person at large, her behavior while serving her sentence, and the totality of other data characterizing her before and after committing the crime.

does not apply to women sentenced to imprisonment for a term of more than five years for grave and especially grave crimes against a person.

When the child reaches 14 years of age, the court:

• releases the convicted person from serving the sentence or the remaining part of the sentence;
• replaces the remaining part of the punishment with a more lenient punishment.

The court may, upon the proposal of the body exercising control over the correct behavior of the convicted person, cancel the deferment and send the convicted person to serve the sentence at the place appointed in accordance with the court verdict if:

• the convicted woman abandoned the child;
• she continues to evade raising the child after a warning from the body that monitors her faithful behavior.

A convicted person should be considered evading raising a child if she left him in a maternity hospital or transferred him to an orphanage, or leads an immoral lifestyle and is not at all involved in raising and caring for a child, left the child with relatives or third parties without a good reason, went into hiding or commits other actions (inaction) indicating evasion from raising a child.

If during the deferment period the convicted woman commits a new crime, the court imposes a punishment on her according to the rules of the total number of normative sentences.

8. Exemption from serving a sentence due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for a court conviction (Article 83 of the Criminal Code).

The basis for the mandatory application (by the court) of a special exemption is one or another failure to enforce it after the conviction has entered into legal force within the following periods:

• two years (if convicted of a minor crime);
• six years (if convicted of a crime of average gravity);
• ten years (if convicted of a serious crime);
• fifteen years (if convicted of a particularly serious crime).

The basis for suspending the running of the statute of limitations is the evasion of the convicted person from serving his sentence.

Grounds for renewing the limitation period:

• arrest of the convicted person;
• confession of the convicted person.

The death penalty and life imprisonment are replaced by imprisonment for a certain period if the court cannot apply the statute of limitations to a person sentenced to these types of punishments.

Statutes of limitation do not apply to persons convicted of the following crimes against the peace and security of mankind:

• planning, preparing, unleashing or waging aggressive war;
• use of prohibited means and methods of warfare;
• genocide;
• ecocide.

9. Amnesty (Article 84 of the Criminal Code) . Declared by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in relation to an individually unspecified circle of persons. May contain instructions:

• on freedom from criminal liability of a person who has committed a crime;
• on the release from punishment of a person convicted of a crime;
• on reducing the approved punishment or replacing it with a more lenient type of punishment;
• on exemption from an additional type of punishment;
• about termination of criminal record.

10. Pardon (Article 85 of the Criminal Code) . Carried out by the President of the Russian Federation in relation to an individually designated person. Contains instructions:

• on release from further serving the sentence;
• on reducing the specified punishment or replacing it with a milder type of punishment;
• about termination of criminal record.

11. Criminal record (Article 86 of the Criminal Code) . This concept means the legal condition of a person associated with his conviction for committing a crime, which consists of certain adverse social and legal consequences for this person. A criminal record is taken into account when repeating crimes and assigning punishment. A person released from punishment is considered to have no criminal record.

A criminal record, in essence, is the legal status of a person, determined by the condition of conviction and sentencing to him by a normative court verdict for a crime committed and entailing legal consequences established by criminal law if this person commits a crime again.

Thus, a person’s outstanding or unexpunged criminal record gives rise to special public legal relations with the state that are formed on the basis of criminal law regulation, which, when this person commits new crimes, serve as the basis for assessing his personality and the crimes he has committed as having an increased public danger and therefore, it is assumed that more stringent criminal liability measures will be applied to him.

According to the opinion of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, allowing by virtue of Art. 55 (part 3) in relation to persons with a criminal record, the possibility of establishing by federal law certain additional encumbrances that remain for a reasonable period of time after they have served their criminal sentence, which are determined, among other things, by the public danger of such persons, are adequate to it and are associated with the obligation to bear responsibility for guilty behavior, the Constitution of the Russian Federation at the same time requires unconditional compliance with the personal guarantees it provides and is based on the need to ensure the fairness of the relevant restrictions and their proportionality to the protected constitutional values. Special attention is paid to this. This presupposes the establishment of public legal responsibility only for a guilty act and its differentiation depending on the severity of the act, the size and nature of the damage caused, the degree of guilt of the offender and other significant circumstances that determine the individualization of punishment.

The federal legislator - subject to the constitutional guarantees of the individual in his public legal relations with the state - the criminal legal consequences of an outstanding or unexpunged conviction, differentiates them depending on how the conviction affects the social danger of certain categories of crimes. If the mere commission of a crime by a person who already has a criminal record increases his social danger, regardless of the type of crime, then this is considered in the provisions of the General Part of the Criminal Code as an aggravating circumstance. Special attention is paid to this. If the influence of a previous criminal record on the social danger of a new crime is assessed by the legislator as going beyond the usual, including due to the high level of special recidivism characteristic of a particular type of crime, the criminal record is indicated as a qualifying element of the crime related to the subject of the crime, antisocial the nature of which is determined to a large extent by the systematicity of the person’s criminal behavior.

A criminal record begins on the day the court's conviction comes into force and continues until it is expunged or withdrawn.

A criminal record is expunged upon completion of :

• probationary period - in relation to persons on probation;
• one year after serving or executing a sentence - in relation to persons sentenced to more lenient penalties than imprisonment;
• three years after serving the sentence - in relation to persons sentenced to imprisonment for crimes of minor or moderate gravity;
• six years after serving the sentence - in relation to persons sentenced to imprisonment for serious crimes;
• eight years after serving the sentence - in relation to persons convicted of especially serious crimes.

The court may remove a criminal record before the expiration date at the special request of the convicted person, if he behaved impeccably after serving his sentence.

Expungement or expungement of a criminal record cancels all legal consequences that relate to the criminal record.

Deferment of serving a sentence

In some cases, convicted persons may qualify for a deferment of execution. This concept and types of exemption from criminal punishment are associated with the fact that the state temporarily grants a reprieve to the guilty person. Essentially, for the guilty person, this means that the sentence will be served after a certain time after the trial, and not immediately, as in the vast majority of cases.

Certain citizens with special circumstances can count on such installment plans.

• a pregnant woman, as well as parents of both sexes, provided that they are the only official representatives of the child and agree to his upbringing and maintenance;
• if the severity of the crime is mild or moderate, and the person applying for a deferment has no more than two convictions;
• for crimes related to the distribution of drugs, a deferment may also be granted, implying that the punishment will be incurred later, however, to obtain it, the offender must have an officially registered drug addiction, and it is also necessary that the person agrees to treatment for drug addiction.

If a deferment from serving a sentence is requested by a person who is the only parent of a minor, then such person is subject to certain requirements that he must fulfill.

Unconditional grounds for refusing a deferment are considered. If the crime is classified as serious, and the period of imprisonment will be more than 5 years, then serving it takes place immediately after the trial.

A person will be denied this opportunity if the articles for which he may be held liable are terrorist.

If a deferment is applied in connection with the upbringing of a child or children, the convicted person must have a permanent place of residence with which he must provide for the child. A reprieve is not provided to those previously deprived of parental rights, as well as if the offender had previously committed unlawful acts against the children under their care and was sentenced for this to a real term of serving in a correctional colony.

It is worth noting that in international use, deferment of punishment is quite limited. In Russia they can provide it for several years. True, the issue of the birth of new children during the period while the deferment lasts is slightly unregulated, but in general this is the only country that offers such an opportunity to avoid responsibility for some time. Foreign practice has a slightly different type of application of such measures. In foreign countries, for example, in the USA, this method is provided to convicts extremely rarely and has clearly regulated terms: 1-3 months, depending on the article and the identity of the criminal. As a rule, in the States this opportunity is provided in cases of death sentences.

Essence and objectives of the measure

Exemption from punishment due to illness or other reasons does not rehabilitate the offender. The essence of the measure is to eliminate or minimize (if possible) adverse consequences associated with the execution of the sentence.

Introduction objectives:

• savings in criminal repressive measures,
• stimulating the guilty citizen to reform,
• education of the criminal's sense of justice,
• preventing negative consequences (for example, significant social costs).

Along with this, release is assigned if it is not possible to achieve the goals of the punishment.

Exemption from serving a sentence due to statute of limitations

Exemption from liability applies if the limitation period for the appointment of departure has already passed.

If the crime was established much later than the time it was committed, then the offender has the right to take advantage of the termination of the prosecution due to the passage of time.

1. For minor crimes ─ 2 years.
2. The average degree involves 6 years, after which it is not possible to apply punishment to the offender.
3. For serious crimes, this period is 10 years.
4. For especially serious cases ─ 15 years.

According to this possibility, the grounds for exemption from criminal punishment arise due to the fact that too much time has passed. In fact, the state saves its energy to organize isolation for a person if he committed this crime for the first time and subsequently led a respectable lifestyle, that is, he worked, studied, and raised children.

If such a crime was committed, and the offender was subsequently prosecuted in other cases, especially of a similar nature to the one previously committed, then termination of criminal prosecution cannot be applied. In this case, the offender receives a certain period of responsibility according to the degree of the crime.