Capital punishment in Poland
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Capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
remained in
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
law until September 1, 1998, but from 1989 executions were suspended, the last one taking place one year earlier. There is no death penalty envisaged for in current Polish penal law.


History

According to its first Penal Code, of 1818, executions would be carried out by beheading by the sword or, in exceptional cases, by hanging. The latter was allowed only for male prisoners convicted of heinous crimes. This Penal Code was in force until integration into Russia in 1867. Since regaining independence in 1918, Polish law allowed the death penalty for murder and treason in time of peace, and a number of other offences during wartime. For example, during the Polish-Soviet War (later to become famous) writer Sergiusz Piasecki was sentenced to death for armed robbery in the war zone, although his sentence was later commuted. From 1918 to 1928
firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...
was the only method of execution. Through a presidential decree in 1927,
hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
became the main method of execution, with firing squad retained for soldiers or people who had committed crimes against state security. served as the first civil executioner and was a well-known public figure until his firing for alcoholism. Probably the most notable execution by firing squad during the time of the
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...
was the execution of
Eligiusz Niewiadomski Eligiusz Niewiadomski (December 1, 1869 in Warsaw – January 31, 1923 in Warsaw) was a Polish modernist painter and art critic who sympathized with the right-wing National Democracy movement. In 1922 he assassinated Poland's first Preside ...
, a painter and far right-wing extremist, who assassinated President of Poland Gabriel Narutowicz in December 1922. It is noteworthy that for a number of years, criminal law in interwar Poland was considered less severe than in Western Europe; this was true for capital punishment as well. When in 1931 a criminal code was passed, the death penalty was incorporated into it by a majority of only a single vote. However, attitudes changed and in 1932 even 17-year-old convicts were allowed to receive the death sentence. For a brief period during the Second Republic in the 1930s special military courts were introduced in present-day
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. A number of people were hanged based upon decisions by these tribunals for crimes against state security. Until 1950, the
Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...
could order a public execution. There were never such ones in the
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...
, but after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
some notable
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
war criminals were hanged in public. Former
Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
concentration camp commandant Rudolf Höss was executed before a large crowd of witnesses in the former camp area. Also former President of the Senate of the
Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...
and
gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...
of Reichsgau Wartheland, SS officer Arthur Greiser was hanged in public in
Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
on July 14, 1946. This was the last public execution in Poland. During the
Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
era (1945–1956), the death penalty was a common instrument of
political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereb ...
. The archetypal method was shooting a single bullet up into the base of the skull from behind; among people executed that way was Witold Pilecki, a hero of Auschwitz. The exact number of people executed until 1956 is unknown, but some sources estimated these numbers as about 3500. After 1956 (events of Polish October) executions of political prisoners ended, and most executions were related to the crime of murder. The only exception was the case of
Stanisław Wawrzecki Stanisław Wawrzecki (1922 – March 19, 1965) was a Director of State-Directed Meat Trade in Praga (part of Warsaw), and the last person sentenced to death and executed in Poland for economy-related crimes after 1956. He was convicted for corrupti ...
, who was sentenced to death and hanged for economic crimes under pressure from communist leader Władysław Gomułka. The method authorized for soldiers and people who committed crimes against state security remained the firing squad. The most recent confirmed execution of a female took place on September 21, 1949. , a former
Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...
soldier, was executed by a single shot to the back of the head for espionage (almost certainly politically motivated charge) at Rakowiecka Prison in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
. The last execution for an ordinary crime took place on April 7, 1922, when Józefina Paśnik was executed, along with her husband, by firing squad at the Citadel of Warsaw for murder. From 1969 to 1995 344 people were sentenced to death and 183 were executed (all of sentenced and executed were males). In contrast to other states of the
Soviet Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
, the number of executions in Poland was relatively low. The last execution took place on April 21, 1988 in
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, when murderer and rapist Andrzej Czabański was hanged. After the collapse of communism in 1989 only a few death sentences were imposed: 1989 – Mariusz Trynkiewicz, sentenced for four counts of murder 1991 – Henryk Więckowski, sentenced for murder. 1992 – Eugeniusz Mazur, sentenced for four counts of murder 1993 – Henryk Moruś, sentenced for seven counts of murder 1994 – Janusz Kulmatycki, sentenced for murder of a police officer and Grzegorz Płociniak; sentenced for double murder 1995 – Tomasz Ciepielewski, sentenced for murder and Zenon Gliwa sentenced for double murder. 1996 – Zbigniew B., sentenced for double murder. Last death sentence in Poland. None of them were carried out. Protocol 6 of the
European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...
, which Poland has ratified, restricts the application of the death penalty to times of war or "imminent threat of war". In 2014, Poland ratified Protocol 13 of the Convention, which provides for the total abolition of the death penalty. The penal code of 1997 abolished the death penalty for all crimes; the code passed into Polish law on September 1, 1998. Poland has also ratified the
Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, is a subsidiary agreement to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It was created on 15 D ...
on 25 April 2014.


Politics

Today, most political circles are opposed to the idea of reintroducing the death penalty, although it has had support from some members of the former (2005–2007) right-wing government, namely former President Lech Kaczyński. He had expressed his desire to reinstate the death penalty, clashing with the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
over the issue. The national-conservative League of Polish Families (LPR) and the agrarian Self-Defense (Samoobrona RP) also showed some support for the death penalty for a short period of time. Some politicians of the centre-right Citizens' Platform (PO) stated that they would support death penalty if it was legal in the EU. To support the move, Kaczyński has stated that the death penalty remains popular with most Poles and that abolishing the death penalty gives criminals advantages over victims. A poll by CBOS, a publicly funded Polish research institute, showed that 63% favored reinstating the death penalty. Both the Catholic Church hierarchy, as well as former Presidents Lech Wałęsa and Aleksander Kwaśniewski had expressed their opposition to such a measure. Another poll, in 2007 by Angus Reid Global Monitor, showed that Poles were divided on the issue. 52 per cent of respondents said they opposed the death penalty while 46 per cent said they supported it, with a margin of error at 4.5 per cent. Currently, the only party in the Sejm that supports bringing back the death penalty is the
Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
. In 2023, Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki said he supported the Death Penalty.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/poland-death-penalty-catholic-mateusz-morawiecki-b2255203.html


Execution procedure

During the years in which the death penalty existed in Poland, execution by hanging was carried out in eight prisons in the country. Typically, executions would take place around 6.00 p.m., when there were the most prison guards present. The prisoner was unaware of the fact that the execution was imminent: he was not informed of the date and time when it would take place. Prisoners were only informed at the last moment, as they entered the death chamber. Death chambers were usually located alongside toilets and reportedly many of the condemned may have thought they were taken to wash themselves. A final meeting with their family (or the presence at the execution of a family representative) was not allowed. Families of condemned prisoners were not told in advance of the execution date. They only learned of the execution after it had taken place and their relative was dead. Any person sentenced to death could write a plea for
pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
and submit it to the
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
or, in the
Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...
, to the Council of State. Even if they did not do that, case files after exhausting all of the possible remedies had to be immediately submitted to the head of state with an attached proposal stating whether the convicted deserved to be pardoned, drawn up by the Public Prosecutor General. Except for the prison guards, medical team and executioner, the only persons present during the execution were the
prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...
(not the judges) and, if the prisoner wished, a
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
and his
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
. After having his hands tied the prisoner was escorted to the death chamber. The execution chamber had two rooms – one for final preparations and the second containing the gallows. Then prosecutor read the verdict and informed the condemned prisoner that the
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
/ Council of State did not use the right to pardon and therefore the penalty would be executed. The prisoner had a right to a last wish – e.g. cigarette, simple last meal or writing a letter to their family. There were two professional executioners in Poland (both of them members of the prison guard) who received a fee for performing an execution. Their names were kept secret to protect them from reprisals. Both were guards in Warsaw and, if the execution was to be carried out in another place, they travelled to the relevant prison before the execution. Executions using firing squads were carried out in the military camp in
Rembertów Rembertów () is a district of the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Between 1939 and 1957 Rembertów was a separate town, after which it was incorporated as part of the borough of Praga-Południe. Between 1994 and 2002 it formed a separate ...
. From 1970 to 1988 three soldiers were shot for the crime of murder and rape.


See also

* ''
A Short Film About Killing ''A Short Film About Killing'' ( pl, Krótki film o zabijaniu) is a 1988 drama film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Mirosław Baka, Krzysztof Globisz, and Jan Tesarz. Written by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the fil ...
'' and its original version, '' Dekalog: Five''


References


External links


History and procedure (Polish)
* ''Kronika darowanej śmierci'', Polityka (April 19, 2008) {{Capital punishment in Europe 1989 disestablishments in Poland 1998 disestablishments in Poland