Abolition Of Capital Punishment

The death penalty, the penalty of depriving a person of his life, has exerted great importance in both ancient times and modern times. There are two viewpoints as to the death penalty: "reservation of death penalty" and "abolishment of death penalty". Those who maintain the former believe that the death penalty is the necessary measurement to revenge on murderers and therefore, functions as the deterrent force. However, those who hold the latter believe the death penalty to be inhumane and cruel, can not be corrected once pronounced judgment. "Criminal Law of 1979" prescribed 28 categories of capital offenses; however, in "Criminal Law of 1997", there are 68 categories of capital offenses. This thesis elaborates the origin of capital offenses and the focus of controversies by means of analyzing the functions of the death penalty, and put forward several suggestions to perfect China's death penal system: for instance, to decrease the crime rate; reduce the death penalty criminal charges; expand the application of death sentence with a suspension of execution; establish the enforcement system of death sentence with a two-year to five-year reprieve and long-term penalty from 30 years to 50 years; withdraw the judicial review of death sentence, etc. In addition, the thesis lists 68 death penalty charges prescribed in present "Criminal Law", which is extremely important in the analysis of death penalty issue.