TOUGH penalties for criminals are popular in Slovakia. A poll carried out by the MVK agency for the SME daily showed that 61.7 percent of respondents were in favour of reintroducing capital punishment.
Roughly 80 percent said they welcomed last year's introduction of the "three strikes you're out" system, which puts serious repeat offenders behind bars for life. The death penalty in Slovakia was cancelled in 1990. Richard Fides, a spokesperson for the Justice Ministry, said that Slovakia's membership in the Council of Europe prohibits the state from reintroducing capital punishment into its laws.
