2. The system of reprieve of death is the first criminal law enforcement system in China, and it is a special legal system (unique to China) created by implementing the principle of careful killing/less killing.

3. In the case that it is impossible to abolish the brutal punishment of death penalty for the time being, the reprieve can be used as a substitute for the death penalty without relaxing the means of fighting crime.

4. But in practice, the death penalty often becomes the flexible space for judges' discretion. Under the current judicial situation of China, where judicial corruption is serious and judges' quality is low, it has become one of the objects of power and money transactions. ....

5. Also, today, when the presumption of guilt has been presumed to be innocent, when the judge finds that the defendant's evidence is insufficient and the public prosecution agency is very strong, the death penalty is often used to judge some suspicious cases instead of applying the legal principle of no doubt, which also casts a layer of dust on the death penalty. ...

6. As a legal person who resolutely opposes the death penalty, I think that the suspended execution of the death penalty has certain progressive significance for human rights under the existing conditions. ..

7. Some history and arguments about the death penalty:

In the United States, all major websites concerned about the death penalty have listed the following names:No. 1000, Kenneth Boyd, implementation date: 65438+February 2, 2005, North Carolina; No. 100 1, Shawn Fleece, implementation date: 65438+February 2, 2005, South Carolina.

Counting is a very strange thing, which will produce some unexpected effects. For example, what people are used to will stop at a certain point because of counting, and do some review and introspection. This time, the United States executed the1000th death row since the death penalty was resumed in 1976, and that's all.

There has been a long-standing dispute over the abolition of the death penalty. It is one thing to execute a person, but the Death Penalty Law is another. It has been a long time since human beings implemented the same kind, but turning it into law reflects that society is maturing and starting to think about making punishment a contract.

It is generally believed that the death penalty law promulgated by Babylon in BC18th century is the earliest mature death penalty law. It stipulates that there are 25 crimes that can be executed. In Athens, Greece in the 7th century BC, the death penalty was once regarded as the only punishment for all crimes, and even the slightest crime would lead to a dead end. Along the way, in the 5th century BC, Rome also had its death penalty law. There are many kinds of execution methods, which are often cruel from today's perspective. Today, people think this is a kind of "cruel" hanging, which was nothing at that time. The death penalty is usually burned to death, drowned, beaten to death, beaten to death and so on.

In the 10 century, hanging became a quite common execution method in Britain. In the next few years, William the Conqueror appeared in England. He once declared that no one would be put to death under his rule except in time of war. This may be the earliest effort to abolish the death penalty in Britain. However, it is obviously not ready. So the death penalty was quickly restored, and then only under the rule of King Henry VIII of England, about 72,000 people were executed.

The review process of death penalty in Britain is very interesting. The jury system has been practiced in Britain for a long time. This gives people a channel to resist harsh laws. The so-called death penalty in Britain used to be very hasty. In the18th century, 222 crimes could be executed, such as stealing and cutting down a tree that should not be cut down. In the end, people think it's too much. They were temporarily unable to change the law, so they expressed their dissatisfaction through the jury system. In some cases that they think should not be executed, when there is enough evidence to prove the suspect guilty, the jurors just declare him innocent. Because once convicted, it is the death penalty. Such a large number of cases actually shook the judicial system itself, forcing Britain to review and reform its death penalty law between 1823 and 1837, and almost half of the crimes were excluded from the death penalty.

The British death penalty law was brought to the North American colonies by pioneers. The first execution of the British North American colony was in Virginia in 1608, which was supposed to be the1000th death row prisoner and was recently pardoned. Of course, there was no America at that time. Virginia is only the earliest British colony, not a state. The first condemned man was an officer. He was executed on charges of being a Spanish spy. In any case, the crime itself is big enough. But by 16 12, trivial and minor crimes were among the executions in the laws promulgated by the Governor of Virginia Colony. Perhaps it is very difficult for the new colony to maintain order, and the governor has to sacrifice harsh laws to gain a foothold.

Just before the American Revolution, 1767, Italian Beccaria wrote a paper on crime and punishment. In his article, he wrote that the limit of the penalty system is to achieve the proper goal of security and order, and exceeding the limit is tyranny. He believes that the effectiveness of criminal trial comes from the certainty of punishment, not cruelty. He was the first person to propose the abolition of the death penalty, thinking that it was unfair for the state to deprive a person of his life.

Beccaria's papers gradually spread to North America, which had a great influence on intellectuals before the revolution, including the founding fathers of the United States. The first attempt at reform took place in Virginia. Thomas Jefferson, one of the founders of America at that time, made his first attempt in his hometown. He put forward a proposal in the Virginia legislature to amend the death penalty law, that is, the death penalty cannot be imposed except for murder and treason. The proposal was not passed by one vote. We can see that Jefferson only accepted part of Beccaria's views. He is against the excessive death penalty, but not absolutely.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the place where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were signed, and it was also influenced by Beccaria Thought. There, Dr. Benjamin Luce, the signatory of the Declaration of Independence, thought that it was unreasonable to say that the death penalty was a "deterrent force". He even thinks that the death penalty is murder, but it sets a bad example for criminal behavior. Benjamin Franklin, the famous American founder, agreed with him. In the United States, this state was the first to legislate to classify murder, such as separating intentional homicide from manslaughter. 1794, the national legislation stipulates that all crimes except first-degree murder are not sentenced to death.

The United States is very different from other countries. It was founded as a consortium. Therefore, criminal offences are basically governed by laws at the state level. So the situation in each state is different. 1846, the legislation of Michigan in the United States exempted the death penalty for all crimes except treason. Later, Rhode Island and Wisconsin completely abolished the death penalty. However, most countries still retain the death penalty.

At the beginning of the last century, six States in the United States gradually recovered after a brief abolition of the death penalty. On the one hand, criminologists have a series of research work and think that the death penalty is a necessary social tool. Coupled with the Great Depression and other reasons, the number of people executed in the United States reached an all-time high in the 1930s, with an average of 167 people per year. 1940, the United States executed 1289 cases, which decreased from 1950 to 7 15. At that time, Americans' support for the death penalty reached the lowest level in history, with only 42% supporting it.

According to the American system, there are two levels to abolish the death penalty. One way is for each state to legislate on its own, and the other way is for the Supreme Court to interpret the death penalty as "unconstitutional" at the federal level. The 5th, 8th and 14 amendments to the US Constitution have always been interpreted as approving the death penalty, but since 1960s, this interpretation has become loose. 1970 At the beginning of the year, when the Supreme Court interpreted the Constitution, it held that the death penalty violated the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. The court must not punish criminals in a cruel and unusual way. However, by 1976, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty cannot be regarded as "cruel and unusual" if it is executed in an appropriate way.

In this way, before 1976 resumed the death penalty, the United States did not execute the death penalty for nine years nationwide. Now, since 1976 resumed the death penalty, 1000 prisoners on death row have been counted.

How to execute the death penalty

The process and repetition of the US Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution actually reflects Americans' confusion about the death penalty, which also belongs to various countries.

From the historical evolution of the death penalty in the United States, we can see that the progress in dealing with the death penalty includes many aspects: what kind of crimes are suitable for the death penalty, such as people's understanding of the relationship between drugs and death penalty in Asia today; There is a question of whether the execution method is cruel; There is a question whether the death penalty should be executed in public.

First, the death penalty in the United States is basically limited to the scope of first-degree murder. The death penalty cannot be mandatory in any state, and the jury must know that there are other options, such as life imprisonment.

For the execution of the death penalty, every state tries its best to be humane.

Like the Missouri model, the death penalty procedure is like this:

Within 48 to 72 hours before the execution of the death penalty, the condemned man was transferred from his cell to a room near the death penalty room. During this period, death row inmates can enjoy more freedom, including unlimited meetings with relatives and friends, clergy and lawyers. You can talk freely with the outside world. A prisoner on death row can put forward the menu of "Last Supper". As long as it can be done, the prison must try its best to meet his requirements. The last supper is between 5: 30 and 6:00 pm. At midnight, 12: 00, 1 execute the death penalty.

With the development of science and technology, the way of execution has become faster and more painless. /kloc-at the end of 0/9, the United States tried to find a more humane way of execution. Some people once thought that electric shock could accelerate death and be more humane. 1888, the first electric chair for death penalty was built in New York State. 1890 executed the first criminal in the electric chair. In the 1920s, there was also research on gas implementation. Now the United States is basically suitable for injecting venom. The general process begins with arm disinfection, and then a syringe is inserted, with 3 doses of medicine. The first dose is equivalent to an anesthetic, which makes the death row unconscious, the second dose is to destroy the respiratory system, and the third dose is to stop the heart function. The whole process takes about 5 minutes. Then, after forensic identification, the death was confirmed.

With regard to the execution of the death penalty, starting from 1834, Pennsylvania is the first state in the United States to legislate not to publicly execute the death penalty. Since then, States have gradually followed suit. The death penalty is only executed in the presence of a very small number of people. In recent years, some states have passed legislation to give the victims' families the right to watch the executed prisoners who killed their relatives. Of course, you can also choose not to watch it. We have seen such a feature film on TV, which objectively introduces the situation of a case, the death row inmates, the victims and their families, the ideological evolution of long-term prisoners, and the different moods of the victims' families. Finally, some families chose to watch the death penalty. Afterwards, the victim's mother said in an interview that she felt comforted. Of course, some people choose not to go. In these different attitudes, we can see the complexity of human nature.

A big trouble with the death penalty is that many cases are controversial. Many death row inmates insisted that they had been wronged until the execution. In many cases, like the famous Simpson case, the murder case may be direct evidence without witnesses and weapons. The jury can only reach a verdict after weighing the legal evidence presented in court. Although the amendment to the US Constitution guarantees the rights of the defendant, such as not forcing the defendant to testify against himself. When the jury makes a final verdict, it must be strictly based on "evidence beyond reasonable doubt", the jury must reach an agreement on the verdict, and so on. Nevertheless, there is still no absolute guarantee that there will be no unfair cases.

According to the survey from 1977 to 2002, after being sentenced to death by a jury, the death row inmates in the United States have to go through nearly 10 years of appeal on average. American society believes that they should be given the greatest opportunity to correct possible misjudged cases. A study by Duke University in the United States once pointed out that the cost paid by American taxpayers is twice that of a prisoner sentenced to 20 years in prison. A large part of the expenditure is that States must set up independent lawyers to defend death row inmates. Their duty is to assist condemned prisoners to appeal to a higher court after the death sentence. On average, each prisoner on death row costs the state government $265,438+$600,000.

After all the procedures are completed, according to the US Constitution, the President has the right to pardon criminals without providing any reasons. There are similar provisions in the state constitutions of various States, and death row inmates can ask the governor for pardon. This time, Virginia, which should have been the1000th death row victim, was pardoned by the governor according to the state constitution. Of course, although the Constitution does not require pardons to provide reasons, pardons usually have certain reasons.

Therefore, every state, such as Missouri, has a full 24-hour appeal time. Until the last minute, the execution room must be ready to answer pardon calls.

The abolition of the death penalty is still controversial

Thinking about the death penalty is ultimately related to people's thinking about social order and life. However, there are also some technical arguments.

There used to be some small counties in the United States that asked the state government to stop the death penalty, just because the appeal process for condemned prisoners was too expensive to afford.

Some people oppose the death penalty and question whether society should use it as a deterrent to crime. But even on this issue, some people question its "deterrent ability" from the perspective of "technology". As a result, police chiefs all over the country conducted a survey. As a result, among more than 300 randomly sampled police chiefs, 67% did not think that "the death penalty can significantly reduce the number of murders", and 82% did not believe that murderers would worry about the consequences of punishment before killing. Among several ways to reduce crime listed in the survey, the death penalty is considered to be the last one.

Some people oppose the death penalty because they think it is a cruel punishment. However, after interviewing death row inmates, some death row inmates think that long-term imprisonment is more cruel than the death penalty, and life imprisonment is worse than the death penalty, which looks like death.

Due to the long appeal process of death row inmates in the United States, during this 10 year, many people have shown complete repentance for their sins and mistakes. Should such prisoners be pardoned compared with their previous bloody and cruel crimes? This is also a big debate. Some people tend to let bygones be bygones. Some people think that once a crime is committed, nothing can change this fact, because people killed by criminals cannot be resurrected.

Some Americans oppose the death penalty from a religious point of view, that is, human society cannot "play the role of God" and only God has the right to take a person's life. This is a conservative angle. However, more and more Americans are thinking from the perspective of human rights. They think that the death penalty is inhuman to deprive a person of his life. This is a liberal view.

The southern United States is recognized as a conservative region with a particularly strong religious atmosphere. However, in these areas, the proportion of people in favor of the death penalty is quite high. The reason is that there is a very important conservative tradition in the southern United States, which emphasizes the "law and order" of the southern style. Therefore, the south has maintained strict laws for a long time, and the people have a strong concept, that is, protecting individual rights. You can't infringe on the person and rights of others. If you violate others, you will pay the price. Therefore, in the eyes of many southerners in the United States, it is only natural to kill people for their lives. They generally don't agree with humanitarian reasons, but think that they must look at the problem from the perspective of the victims.

What a coincidence. 165438+1On October 29th, the governor of Virginia pardoned the state's death row inmates, resulting in two death row inmates almost tied for 1000, both in Carolina. North and South Carolina are tied together, which is originally a state. North and South Carolina and Virginia, which pardon death row inmates, happen to be the south of the United States. There are 12 states in the United States, plus Washington, D.C., and there is still no death penalty. Although there are death penalty states and northern states, almost all southern states are in favor of the death penalty.

These arguments have not yet reached a unanimous conclusion. However, from the thinking and practice of the death penalty in the United States, we can see that although there may be long-term debates and repetitions on ethical judgment and the abolition of the death penalty, the death penalty is a multi-level issue. These problems can be gradually improved while discussing, such as improving the trial and appeal procedures to reduce unjust, false and wrongful cases, giving defendants full rights and fair trials, changing the habit of public execution, reducing the pain of executing the death penalty, and so on.

We may not be able to make a decision on the most difficult ethical issues at once, but in the face of today's reform of the death penalty and judicial system, we in China are far from being idle.