Particularly serious crimes: whether it will be possible to escape punishment?

A crime is a guilty act (action or inaction), which is a danger to society and punishable in accordance with the criminal legislation of Russia. Thoughts, desires, intentions of a person that have not been applied in real life, can not be considered as such.

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the following categories of crimes:

- A small weight - a dangerous act committed by negligence or deliberately. An example of this type of crime may be the threat of bodily harm. The maximum imprisonment in this case can not exceed the time limit of two years. This period may be reduced, depending on the availability of mitigating circumstances.

- Of moderate severity - an act that provides for imprisonment for up to five years, committed intentionally or through negligence. An example of such a crime is theft of someone else's property.

- Severe crimes - acts committed by a person through negligence or intentionally. The maximum sentence in this case is ten years' imprisonment. An example of such an act may be theft, violation of traffic rules, which caused the death of more than two persons.

Separately, it is necessary to classify particularly serious crimes, always committed on the personal intent of the offender. The prison sentence for such guilty and dangerous for a society action can make from ten years and above, up to life imprisonment under guards. The death penalty in Russia, as a rule, is not applied.

This distinction of crimes by category is determined in turn by the type and size of the punishment. It is conducted taking into account such indicators as the nature of the danger of this act for society, the form of guilt. For example, a person who for the first time committed a crime of small gravity, in case of complete repentance and confession of guilt, can be completely released from criminal liability or convicted on probation. A citizen whose guilt is proved for a particularly serious crime, regardless of the presence of convictions, remorse, etc., will fully bear the punishment he deserves. The differentiation of crimes by severity is necessary from a legal point of view. Punishment, for example, for petty theft can not be equated with such for murder.

In accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the category "particularly serious crimes" includes:

- murder committed in a particularly cruel way;

- causing serious harm to health;

- kidnapping of a person ;

- rape;

- human trafficking;

- violent actions against a minor;

- robbery in a particularly large amount;

- legalization of tangible property received during the commission of a crime;

- sabotage;

- receiving a bribe;

- an attempt to assassinate a law enforcement officer.

The category of "particularly serious crimes" can also include actions for the mass destruction of a certain group of people on their racial or ethnic grounds (genocide), mass destruction of the surrounding nature, flora and fauna, as well as conducting activities that can lead to an ecological catastrophe (ecocide ).

In the judicial practice of Russia, there is a notion of the statute of limitations, that is, the time period that must have elapsed from the moment of the crime, if for some reason it remained undisclosed, as long as the person who commits the crime becomes criminally liable. For particularly serious crimes, a maximum limitation period of twenty years is provided. The countdown starts from the moment when the investigation began. For some crimes, there is no statute of limitations. For example, genocide. Unfortunately, as practice shows, the possibility of uncovering a crime committed several years ago is extremely small.