On The Application Of The Death Penalty Standards

Where reservation, restraint, and reduction of death penalty exist nowadays, how to adhere to the application standard governing death penalty, and accurately apply death penalty for the judicial practitioners is the major subject which both the theoretical and practical personnel urgently research and solve. This paper aims at the perspective of judicial practice, from the focus of attention concerning the status quo of legislation at home and abroad, integrating theory with practice, in a down-to-earth and reliable attitude, being creative in a pioneering spirit, attempts to put forward several specific standards, which are commensurate with the provisions of criminal law, criminal procedural law, and judicial interpretations, and discusses the thinking concerning the new issues and situations encountered in settling the present application standard governing death penalty. The author holds that the application standard governing death penalty is the yardstick, criterion and norm to judge and decide the application of death penalty. Applying standard governing death penalty should embody and adhere to the penal concept and sentencing norm characterized by justice, humanity, absolute necessity and cost. Hearing death penalty cases should adhere to the statutory procedure, and accomplish the work in the evidence examination, fact examination, as well as the circumstance examination for the purpose of accurately applying law. The procedural examination governing death penalty cases can effectively discover case facts, remedy and correct wrongful judgments, thus prevent the execution wrongly and unjustly. The evidence examination governing death penalty cases is the non-skipping stage as well as necessary means to verify case facts. The fact examination governing death penalty cases is the prerequisite for guaranteeing the decided death penalty cases being "the ironclad cases " . The circumstance examination governing death penalty cases plays an essential part in sentencing punishments and decidingthe possibility of applying death penalty.Based on presumption of innocence and adherence to essential discretion, the application of law governing death penalty cases must carry out the principles characterized by nullum crimen nulla poena sine lege , equaity between crime and punishment, seeking to suit punishment to crime as well as responsibility.