Stay in the Execution of Penal Sentences due to Illness: Selected Case Reports and a Review of the Legal Framework in Turkey

Abstract

The postponement of penal sentences due to illness is defined in article 16 of Law No. (5275) on the execution of penalties and security measures in Turkey. According to this article, the execution of a penal sentence is carried out if the disease or illness of a convicted criminal is mild and is treatable at a prison clinic or at a public hospital having separate out-patient or in-patient clinics for prisoners. On the other hand, if the convict is suffering from a serious or life-threatening disease and the execution may risk the convict's life, then execution of the sentence is delayed until the convict has suitably recovered. In Turkey, the decision to grant a stay in the execution of a penal sentence is given by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on the basis of medical reports prepared by the specialized health committees of public hospitals and approved by the Council of Forensic Medicine or directly prepared by the Council of Forensic Medicine. According to the law of the Council of Forensic Medicine, these reports are sent to the 3rd Specialization Board of the Council of Forensic Medicine by the Prosecutor's Office and then a medical examination of the applicants is arranged. In the present paper, four cases are presented in order to show the working approach of the Council of Forensic Medicine. The first two cases exemplify medical conditions which entitle an ill convict to a stay in the execution of their prison sentence. The last two cases exemplify medical conditions that do not qualify a convict to be considered for a stay in the execution of their sentence.