Deputy justice minister calls for death penalty for 'brutal crimes'

Speaking to PAP, Marcin Romanowski, a deputy justice minister, referred to the Monday death of an eight-year-old boy from burn wounds inflicted by his step-father. The boy died after several weeks in hospital, where doctors put him into an induced coma in an effort to save his life.

"I support the reinstatement of the death penalty for the most brutal crimes. Any other punishment is plainly unfair. The death penalty is not only an effective deterrent, but also a just punishment," Romanowski said.

Asked about the EU's ban on the death penalty, Romanowski called it "absurd," and said he was for "abandoning this system."

Poland officially abolished the death penalty on September 1, 1998. In 2013, Poland ratified a protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights banning capital punishment.