Suvio Bellaron

Suvio Bellaron is one of the Gallente Federation Senators for Intaki. He is best know for his attempts to get the Senate to ban capital punishment in the Federation.

Political positions

Separation of powers

In YC111 Bellaron was co-sponsor, with senator Wu, of a bill to limit public officials to serving within a single branch of government. This was motivated by Souro Foiritan, then President of the Federation, appointing Mentas Blaque, his arch-rival and Head of the Senate, to lead the Federal Intelligence Office. The Bellaron-Wu bill fell victim to Senate procedure and was returned from the floor of the Senate to the Ethics and Conduct Committee, where the political majorities were expected to postpone its approval indefinitely.

Opposition to death penalty

Bellaron started out not opposing the death penalty outright, but objecting to the manner of the public execution of Anvent Eturrer—a former Grand Admiral of the Federation Navy—for treason. This led him to propose a ban on public executions also in YC111. The bill was ultimately defeated by procedural means.

By YC121 Bellaron's views had evolved to the point where he proposed a ban on capital punishement altogether, at least at the Federal level. A total ban of capital punishment at the sub-Federal levels would likely have been rejected as overreach. Even the limited regulation of methods of execution in the final draft was likely to be challenged before the Federal Supreme Court.

Crime and punishment

Contrary to what may appear from his opposition to the death penalty, Bellaron is not what could be described as "soft on crime". In the context of his proposed ban on public executions, he said on the Senate floor

"There is no question that Eturrer's death sentence should be upheld. The legitimacy of the sentence is not in dispute; rather, the manner of the execution was deplorable"

Introducing his YC121 bill, he further said

"As a matter of ugly necessity, we must limit the legal protections of those who break the law – that much is not in contention."

Criticism

As a result of his legislative proposals against the death penalty, Bellaron has been described by political opponents as a borderline traitor and an Intaki anarcho-pacifist ideologue intent on trespassing on the rights of sovereign member states of the Federation.

Support

His first attempt to limit public executions did not receive much backing. However, his TC121 bill banning capital punishment garnered support from a wide section of the public, including on the Jin-Mei home planet of Chandeille (Lirsautton V), as well as about half of all Senators though none from the regions of Everyshore or Solitude.

YC122 Presidential run

Having secured the passage of his controversial death penalty ban, Bellaron announced his candidacy for president of the Federation in the YC122 election..

Progress of the YC121 bill

Bellaron's YC121 bill banning capital punishment was introduced in January. It moved out of committee, to be debated by the Senate plenary, in March. Opponents of Bellaron's ban were able to delay debate on the draft bill for months by means of procedural tricks. The bill was debated at least twice on the Senate floor in the month of May. After further procedural delays it returned to the Senate floor in November. A much-amended version of the bill passed the Senate at the start of December.

Final form

The Senate approved a Federal directive banning the use of capital punishment by the Federal government, and regulating it for sub-Federal governments. Districts and member states will have five yers to implement a delay of one year between death sentence and execution, as well as to ensure the death penalty is humanely applied. A notable example is the Federal consideration of planetary exile, as practised by the Jin-Mei, as an inhumane form of death sentence.

Role in the YC122 presidential election

Outgoing president Jacus Roden, sceptical of the bill, decided to leave the decision to sign or veto the Directive to the next President, to be elected early in YC122. As a result of this, the death penalty was expected to become one of the defining campaign issues of the presidential election.