Judicial Restrictions On The Death Penalty

According to the experience that the author's criminal adjudication work, commencing from the Death sentences cases, the author has made the special subject research about the death sentences and the author hopes to use the judicial means to restrict the death sentences. First, the paper generally introduces the basic theories of the death sentences. Secondly, it introduces the dispute of whether to save death sentences or to discard it. Again, the author points out some abuses in judicatory practice, such as: Interpretations of the Supreme People's Court about the criminal law had enlarged the applying scope of the death sentences; the Supreme People's Court transfer the right of approval death sentences to the Higher People's Court, which lead the death sentences standard is different;The Higher People's Court made the second instance procedure of the death sentences case and the review of death sentences procedure as the same procedure, not opened to trial the death sentences case of second instance, and other phenomenon of breaching the criminal judicial procedure. At last the author puts forward six means to limited the death penalty in the judicial procedure, for example: To use the interpretations of the Supreme People's Court to restrict the death sentences; the Supreme People's Court takes back the right of approval death sentences; for the familiar death sentence cases, the court must be care of affirming the death sentences details; opening to trial the death sentences case of second instance; strictly executing the principle of not increasing the criminal punishment on the defendant in the appeal procedure; to enlarge the scope of the death sentences with a suspension of execution.