A Study On Limit Commutation Of Death Penalty With A Two-year Reprieve

Limit commutation of death penalty with a two-year reprieve has been set in Amendment Eight to the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China.The new provision of executing punishment plays a significant role in death penalty reform.It not only against the background that there has been the trend of limiting death penalty strictly and abolishing it gradually in death penalty reform,but also adjust existing the penalty structure.Since the new system has been operative, intermediate courts start the application of it,however,the application is not optimistic.The reasons are complex.Besides the value conflict behind the new system,the current legislative defects and the limitations of the provision itself,some problems have arised in juridical practice.As a result,it is of significance to deepen the staudy of retroactivity,clarify the substantive standard to improve limit commutation of death penalty with a two-year reprieve,to perfect the penalty structure,to implement the policy of tempering justice with mercy and to reduce the application of death penalty.