The Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Thursday relaxed its rules
on imposing death sentences, while reiterating its stance of
preserving capital punishment.
"All criminals that can be sentenced without the need for
immediate execution should be given a death sentence with a
two-year reprieve," a SPC document on improving criminal trials
said.
"Death sentences with a reprieve can not only punish the guilty
but effectively reduce death sentences."
In certain cases, after two years of good behavior a verdict of
death can be commuted to life in prison, or sentences of 15 or 20
years, if restitution is made.
The SPC called on courts at all levels to balance severe
punishment of serious crimes with a cautious approach to imposing
the death penalty.
"Capital punishment should be given only to an extremely small
number of serious offenders," the document said.
Those who plead guilty and provide important information, and
accomplices in a criminal case, will receive lighter
punishment.
Murders triggered by disputes among family members and neighbors
should not necessarily lead to capital punishment if the victim's
family is financially compensated, the document said.
Those involved in economic crimes will be given reduced
punishment if they helped recoup losses.
Even so, in order to maintain social stability the SPC
guidelines directed: "We must hand down and carry out immediate
capital punishment in regard to heinous cases, with iron-clad
evidence, resulting in serious social damage."
The document also called for stricter procedures at trials and
reviews of death sentence-related cases.
Chen Zexian, deputy director of the Institute of Law of the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said although China will
ultimately abolish capital punishment "it has to start from strict
limits on the use of death penalties".
"It will take a long time for society to accept the abolition of
the death penalty," Chen said.
Last week SPC Vice-President Jiang Xingchang said the number of
death penalties had dropped "remarkably" in China since the highest
court took over reviewing the application of death sentence from
local high courts in January.
Court figures showed last year that 153,724 people received
sentences of longer than five years, including life terms and
executions.
(China Daily September 14, 2007)