On The Judicial Death Penalty Restrictions Apply

Death penalty, as the most severe penalty in depriving the right to life, was born between the late feudal society and the early primitive society. It was undisputed considered as a mean that can be effective to restrain the crime for a long period of time. Until 1764, the Italian criminal law scholar Beccaria had doubtful thoughts whether the existence of the death penalty was reasonable or not in his famous article theory of crime and punishment. He proposed the inhuman nature and unnecessity of the death penalty and required to abolish it. After that , the restrictions of the death penalty caused for concern and reflection gradually.Till now, the abolishment and the severe restriction of the death penalty has become a global trend. Death penalty still exists in some countries, but those countries have restricted the death penalty in the legislative level, or in the judicial level. As Professor Chen Xingliang said:"the world goes toward to the road of the death penalty almost the same way, while heading for the road of abolishing the death penalty in different ways."Now, the society of China is in the transitional period. Although the social legal system has been formed, the attempt to abolish the death penalty completely is still premature according to the current situation of severe rule of law and social atmosphere. Therefore, the restriction and control of the death penalty, especially in the judicial practice of limiting the death penalty in order to reduce the number of actual implementation of the death penalty, is of practical meaning without doubt. At the same time, it must draw our attention on this matter.Based on this main idea, the paper traces the history of the death penalty system of China, investigates the current death penalty policy in China, and explains the necessity of restricting the death penalty at this stage. This paper also employs large number of typical, innovative and detailed cases to describe how the death penalty restriction policy is applied in judicial practice as well as defects.