 Alexander Cheptsov, the lead judge of the trial, confronted with such a great number of discrepancies and contradictions, twice made attempts to appeal to the Soviet leadership to reopen the investigation, and was denied both times.Even after sentencing the defendants, Cheptsov attempted to lengthen the process by declining to immediately execute the defendants.The sentence stated that the defendants would receive "the severest measure of punishment for the crimes committed by them jointly