China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) will send back cases
involving death sentence to provincial courts for retrial if it
finds errors in judgment, according to a regulation released by the
SPC Tuesday.
"The new regulation will guarantee that death sentences are
handed out with caution by ordering retrials, which will also
improve the efficiency of SPC death penalty reviews," a SPC
spokesman told Xinhua Tuesday.
Previously the high court had authority to change any sentence,
but under the new regulation, the SPC will only be able to repeal
the original death penalty sentences in cases involving individual
criminals facing multiple death sentences, or multiple criminals
facing death penalties.
Beginning Jan. 1 of this year, the SPC was empowered to ratify
death sentences, rescind or change them, or order a retrial. The
new regulation amending these powers will take effect on Feb.
28.
(Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2007)