The nation's top court now reviews all death sentences but it
does not mean there will be lenience when it comes to dealing with
serious crime.
Severe punishment will be meted out for terror and gang crimes
and to those who jeopardize national security, warned Xiao Yang, president of the Supreme People's
Court (SPC).
Starting this year, the supreme court took back the power of
reviewing all death penalties from lower courts.
In October, the National People's Congress Standing Committee,
the top legislature, passed an amendment to the Organic Law of the
People's Courts, vesting such authority solely with the SPC.
"Unifying death penalty standards across the country is
important for improving human rights and ensuring fair trials,"
Xiao told a conference of national high court presidents in the
capital city of east China's Shandong Province.
The SPC will also strengthen supervision over lower courts in
death penalty cases, he said.
Figures released at the conference show that in the first 11
months of last year, courts across the nation handled 593,020
criminal cases and sentenced 759,230 criminals, a year-on-year rise
of 1.6 percent and 4.3 percent.
Of the convicts, 276,479 committed serious violent crimes, such
as murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping or taking part in gang
activities. The number sentenced to death was not revealed.
More than 1,400 criminal defendants were found not guilty and
released.
To prepare for the reverting of the power of review, the SPC
last July ordered all provincial high courts to hear death penalty
appeals in open session to ensure justice and avoid improper
verdicts.
Xiao said the nation will retain the death penalty but use it
judiciously. "We should try to keep a balance between strictness
and leniency."
Those who plead guilty and provide important information leading
to the capture of accomplices in a criminal case will receive
lesser punishment, Xiao said.
Courts should be especially cautious in imposing the death
penalty in cases resulting from disputes among family members or
neighbors, he added.
Cao Jianming, vice-president of the SPC, said if supreme court
judges find the evidence is inadequate or the litigation process
improper when reviewing a death penalty, they should submit the
case to the SPC's judicial committee, which will then review the
case with a representative of the Supreme People's Procuratorate in
attendance.
Currently, the SPC has five criminal tribunals of which one is
responsible for reviewing the death penalty for economic crimes and
the other four death penalties given for all other kinds of
crimes.
(China Daily January 8, 2007)
