Changing times have left death penalty behind

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress moved on August 23 to drop the death penalty for 13 non-violent crimes in the latest amendment to the Criminal Law.

These are mostly economy-related offences such as smuggling and tax fraud. If passed, it will be the first time the scope of the death penalty has been reduced since the People's Republic of China enacted its Criminal Law in 1979. The Supreme People's Court (SPC) took back the death penalty review right from local higher courts in 2007.

What's the purpose of the amendment? Will it have social side effects? Global Times reporter (GT) Xu Ming talked to Liu Renwen (Liu), a law professor and director of Criminal Law Department of the Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, on these issues.

Liu Renwen

GT: Why do these crimes no longer carry the death penalty?

Liu: We have a relatively large number of crimes subject to the death penalty and the general trend worldwide is to reduce or abolish capital punishment.

Besides, now China's society is generally stable, which provides a chance for the country to amend its criminal laws and reduce the use of capital punishment.

New criminal laws have been drafted to target drunk driving, speeding and skipping debts, which are emerging problems. I think it is a response to and a demonstration of public demand.

GT: Why the focus on economy-related crimes?

Liu: China enacted its Criminal Law in 1979. In the 1980s, after the opening-up policy, there was drastic increase of economy-related crimes with the development of economy.

In such circumstances, the criminal law was forced to adopt a strict system to crack down on crimes.

So there was gradual increase in the use of the death penalty during that period, which include the 13 economy-related non-violent crimes we are discussing.

But now, we have implemented more efficient precautionary measures. So we can drop the death penalty, which at any rate was very rarely applied for some of these crimes.

GT: The amendment also abolishes the death penalty for people over 75. Why?

Liu: The core of this amendment is to combine punishment with leniency and to strike a balance between the two.

In the past, especially when we were cracking down on crimes, we only considered increasing punishment. But this time, it is different.

At present, China is not ready to abolish capital punishment, but the reduction of the use of the death penalty and the tolerance toward old people in the new draft show China's criminal law has become more humane.

GT: Will the abolition encourage more people to commit crimes? Are we about to see a pensioner crime spree?

Liu: I can't agree. In actual judicial practice, we started to limit the application of capital punishment in 2007 when SPC started reviewing capital punishment again. In practice, the number of crimes subject to the death penalty dropped sharply.

In fact, the rate of some crimes dropped. We can rely on better law enforcement and social management to fight crime. Both globally and domestically, there is no proof that the death penalty helps in maintaining social order.

And old people in China mostly retire at 60 or 65, so they are hardly going to make use of the loophole to commit crimes.

When someone chooses to commit a crime, the first thing they would consider is how they could avoid being caught rather than which form of punishment is more severe. To most corrupt officials, reputation is dearer than life. So a life sentence might make them suffer more than being sentenced to death.

In the long run, the process of abolishing the death penalty for non-violent crimes will go on.

In the future, it may be abolished for corruption cases that don't involve violence. Corrupt officials are not necessarily afraid of the death penalty.

GT: Is China just following an international trend?

Liu: I don't think so. It is true that we do take the international trend into account, but it doesn't mean it isn't carefully considered.

This is a big step, but the decision is based on long-term strict and repeated investigation, sociological studies, and public surveys. It meets China's present needs and is in accordance with public opinion.

And we have to admit this is a global trend. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights doesn't advocate the death penalty for non-violent crimes, which should make us consider its use carefully.

GT: What other penalties can be applied?

Liu: In order to avoid undermining the power and effect of other penalties, this amendment has also put forward some changes in regulations.

For example, the threshold of combining sentences for multiple offences has been lowered, as has the bar for fixed-term sentences.

The conditions under which the death penalty, if passed, can be commuted into a "suspended death sentence" or life sentence are more strictly defined. For violent crimes, the SPC may more strictly define the conditions of parole.

These regulations serve as a response to the public worry that those criminals not sentenced to the death penalty might be released very soon due to corruption in the judicial system or unreasonable laws.

So we need strict prison terms and more supervision on the commutation of sentences. Only in this way can we set people's minds at rest and reduce their worry. And this, in turn, will help with reducing the use of death penalty. I think there will be more laws to come for this purpose.

It also involves the credibility of the judicial system among the public. People need to be sure about the justice of the law and to be confident that nobody will be improperly released as a result of the reduction of the use of capital punishment.

GT: What are the next stages in abolishing the death penalty?

Liu: I think it is a long-term project. China has taken a big step by dropping the death penalty for 13 crimes. We still have 55 such crimes, among which there are some non-violent ones like certain economic crimes and corruption.

It is still a big number. As the next step, I think China will abolish the death penalty for non-violent crimes and then gradually it will abolish the death penalty altogether.

During this process, however, there is a lot to do. For instance, we need to guide public opinion in the right direction and make people realize the death penalty is not the only effective way to punish criminals. Without the death penalty, we may do it better. Besides, a fair and just judicial system should be established to reassure the public.

The public also should know the use of the death penalty could have side effects. Imprudent application of the death penalty may result in innocent people being executed.

Last but not least, a well-managed society can effectively decrease the crime rate. We should make efforts to create such a society.

GT: The international society usually criticizes China for the scope of its death penalty. Is this fair?

Liu: Well, we have to admit that it is a fact. Meanwhile, we should let others recognize the progress we have made in recent years, including the actual reduction of the death penalty in judicial practice and the changes in the law.

As a matter of fact, the country with the highest number of executions per capita is Singapore. China is not even in the top 10 countries when you list executions per capita.

Some people don't take China's size into account, so they are shocked by the number of people sentenced to death in China every year. I think they need to know more about the situation of China and should notice that China is making efforts to improve.

Legal changes

The new amendments to the Chinese criminal code abolish the death penalty for 13 separate offenses, as follows-

►Smuggling cultural relics.

►Smuggling precious metals.

►Smuggling rare species of wildlife, or related products.

►Smuggling goods and articles.

►Promissory notes fraud.

►Financial certificate fraud.

►Fraudulent activities using letters of credit.

►Fraudulent tax returns for imports.

►Forging or selling special invoices for value- added tax.

►Certain types of theft.

►Instructing another person how to commit a crime.

►Tomb-robbing.

►Stealing fossils of humanity's ancestors.

Source: Global Times

Fatal choices

The death penalty will still be applied for 55 other offences, among which are

►Endangering public security by breaching dikes, committing arson, or spreading poison

►Sabotaging aircraft

►Trafficking women and children

►Stealing weapons from the army

►Kidnapping people to force payment of a debt

►Injuring or stealing from civilians during wartime

►Mixing toxic materials with food

Source: Supreme People's Court