Standard Of Proof In Death Penalty Cases

There is an irreversible trend to abolish death penalty in the world. Although theinstitution has been maintained in China, the application of it it has been strictlyrestricted. Comparing to reducing the categories of death penalty eligible offensesthough legislation, it is more effective and straightforward to limit the use of deathpenalty through the procedure of employing high standards of proof in criminal cases.The standards of proof are crucial in the trials of criminal cases for the reason that theyserve as important means to verify the suspected crimes, guarantee the quality of thetrialing and restrict the application of death penalty. The standards of proof in criminalcases should be improved in two aspects for them to be efficacious. On the one hand,independent procedures of criminal charging should be established; the distinctionsshould be made between the standards of proof in death-penalty cases and the standardsof proof for sentencing; the application of the standards of proof should bedifferentiated among different circumstances for sentencing. On the other hand, therelevant institutions should be improved, including increasing the number of collegialpanelists; establishing the principles of “complex majority” and “unanimous verdict”,improving the practice of deliberating on the evidence, limiting the discretionary powerof judges through the free evaluation of the evidence...