On The Legislative Predicament And Realistic Outlet Of Life Imprisonment In China

The penalty system of a country is the embodiment of its civilization,therefore,the establishment of a coordinated penalty system and a scientific and rational penalty system are the elements of building a harmonious society.Life imprisonment is a new regulation added in the amendment(IX)of the criminal law of our country,which is only applicable to the serious crime of corruption and bribery.The original intention of its establishment was to implement the criminal policy of tempering justice with strictness,and exerting the multiple functions of punishing corruption and limiting and replacing the death penalty,which is of positive significance.But in fact,it is not appropriate to add the system of life imprisonment to the specific provisions.First of all,it is difficult to determine the nature of life imprisonment in China,which is controversial in theoretical circles;Second,it conflicts with China's Criminal Law System.However,it breaks the relevant provisions of the general provisions and sets up life imprisonment,which will cause a conflict between the general provisions and the general provisions;Third,life imprisonment is quite cruel in comparison with the death penalty,which causes a conflict between the type of punishment and the degree of punishment;Finally,the establishment of life imprisonment,which lacks a legitimate basis and is contrary to the purpose of punishment,makes the offender bear a penalty that is not commensurate with his criminal responsibility and violates the principle of proportionality.Life imprisonment seriously violates human dignity and damages the Justice of punishment,and there are also obstacles in connection with the prison system,which is contrary to the principle of education and reform of offenders in prison law.In addition,the main body of the corruption crime is the middle-aged and old-aged criminals,which will increase the medical burden of the prison and increase the cost of the prison to imprison the criminals,which is contrary to the benefit principle that the execution of penalty should follow.The system of life imprisonment exists in most countries of common law system and civil law system,but the specific regulations and application are different.The addition of life imprisonment in our country is quite different from the life imprisonment in other countries,so scholars have put forward a lot of ideas about its future choice,and advocates that it should be extended to other crimes or set as an independent type of punishment,or its inclusion in the life imprisonment system,according to whether the sentence can be commuted,parole division to form a strict,gradient life imprisonment;Opponents mostly advocate strict restrictions on the expansion and application of the system of life imprisonment.This article takes a cautious and restrained attitude to life imprisonment,first of all,we should strictly limit its expansion and application;Secondly,we should perfect the penalty execution system,such as commutation,to prevent the judicial corruption,and to ensure the good execution effect of penalty;Finally,we should coordinate the relationship between it and the death penalty,in order to deepen the penalty reform of our country.