Justice minister 'rethinks' death penalty

RIGA 's The Latvian Justice Minister has called into question the "usefulness" of abolishing the death penalty.

In an interview with Latvian Public Radio on Thursday, Justice Minister Gaidis Berzins said that "as a father" he had considered the possibility of renewing the death penalty for perpetrators of violent crimes against children.

The minister also said, however, that he knew it would be impossible to follow through with the motion because of Latvia's obligations in the European Union. 

"I understand that it is the issue related with death penalty and our obligations concerning accession to the European Union, but as a father I would like to say that such people have no place in the society," he said.

Berzins said it would not be useful to open a debate on the topic because of the country's international obligations.

The minister made the comments when asked about a recent case in which a father brutally murdered his 11-year-old daughter.

Daina, a student of the BauskaChristianElementary School, was found in her bed with her throat slashed on the morning of Sept. 27. Her father, Ivars Grantins, confessed to committing the crime three days later. 

Investigators have announced that they would request psychiatric tests for Grantins, who has already been tried twice for sex crimes and once for physical assault.

Police are currently searching for Daina's mother, who reportedly left the country to find work after losing a custody battle for the girl. The Baltic News Service reported that a criminal investigation has been launched over her disappearance.

Latvia effectively abolished capital punishment in 1996 's nobody has been given the death penalty and no executions have taken place in the country since that time.

Under the Penal Law, however, the capital punishment can still be given in wartime, and even then criminals can only be sentenced to execution by shooting only for aggravated murder.