Whether To Keep Death Penalty In China From The Perspective Of Economic Concerns

March4,2011, the Yunnan Provincial Higher People’s Court will be executedimmediately commuted Li Changkui by the death penalty reprieve, the commutedimmediately caused an uproar in the country, after the "commute" actually implies theabolition of the death penalty in recent years in aspects of the citizenry.Abolition of the death penalty has become a worldwide trend, the world’s countries2/3of the death penalty has been abolished. in many countries and regions, even consideration itsforeign exchange to the third for the abolition of capital punishment.The abolition of the death penalty issue is not a long time to enter our country, but ourmost scholars did not appear fierce "battle" on the abolition of the death penalty issue or is itproper "debate" in the abolition of the death penalty issue. On the abolition of the deathpenalty issue, their views do the same-the death penalty must be abolished. Theirdisagreement is not "save"or "waste" areas, but focuses on the issue of abolishing the deathpenalty in what time. Some scholars have suggested that Immediately repeal the death penalty,and the sooner the better, and some scholars have put forward a century-old dream ofabolishing the death penalty. The Yunnan Provincial Higher People’s Court commuted, whichtakes the view of the scholars, applied their view to practice. Since1997new Criminal Lawpromulgated,limiting the death penalty policy has made great progress, the death penaltyaccusation reduced from72to68,2010Criminal Law Amendment has reduced13accusation,2008the Supreme People’s the Court also withdraw the approved right to the death penalty.This implies that many people will no doubt: is it time for China to abolish the death penalty?Our most scholars research focused on the areas which western scholars already involvedin such as the morality of capital punishment, deterrence, values, humanity and non-recoveryof these traditional areas about reserved or abolition the death penalty. the papers from theview of economic analysis are rare, and there is no monograph.So I want to use the economicanalysis, which a relatively new approach to analyze this problem.In the introduction part of the article, I made two apossible alternatives to the death-Lifeimprisonment without parole and a special life imprisonment.In the third part,I uses a method of Posner’s law and economics to theoretical analysisthe purpose of punishment, deterrence and the costs and benefits of imprisonment; fourth part is from the practical point of view, combined with the huge investment from economic andjudicial resources in American, and various emerging class of problems about lifeimprisonment. If we abolition the death penalty executed immediately, we will face enormouseconomic pressure and a series of problem from prison. Finally, I believe that it is too earlyfor a period of abolishing the death penalty, even in the foreseeable long period of time, retainthe death penalty is still the best choice in line with China’s national conditions.