Death sentence with reprieve

Death sentence with reprieve (simplified Chinese: 死刑缓期执行; traditional Chinese: 死刑緩期執行; pinyin: sǐxíng huǎnqī zhíxíng, abbr.: 死缓; Sǐhuǎn) is a criminal punishment found in the law of the People's Republic of China. According to the criminal law chapter 5 (death penalty), sections 48, 50 and 51, it gives the death row inmate a two-year suspended sentence of the execution. The person is released into society on strict monitoring during this two year period. During the release, the person must follow strict rules, such as maintaining employment, not consuming alcohol, and abiding by curfews. After two years, the person will be required to appear at a hearing. The convicted person will be executed if found to intentionally commit further crimes during the two years following the sentence; otherwise, the sentence is automatically reduced to life imprisonment or, if the person is found to have performed deeds of merit during the two years, fixed-term imprisonment.[1]

Unlike pardon (clemency), in which the relief of the penalty is decided after the death penalty has been pronounced, reprieve is pronounced directly in place of the death sentence to the prisoner who has committed the potentially capital crime.

Chinese courts hand down this form of sentencing as frequently as, or more often than,[2] actual death sentences. This unique sentence is used to emphasize the seriousness of the crime and the mercy of the court, and has a centuries-old history in Chinese jurisprudence.[3]

After The Amendment (IX) to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China in 2015, courts may act according to the circumstances for criminals charged with bribery or 'plundering the public treasury', possibly issuing a sentence without commutation or parole when the sentence was automatically reduced to life imprisonment (such as Bai Enpei). That means when a two-year suspended sentence of execution is over, a sentence of 'death with reprieve without commutation or parole' will automatically be reduced to life imprisonment – regardless of any deeds of merit performed during the two years, and the criminal will spend the rest of their life in jail, with no chance of a reduction to fixed-term imprisonment or parole.

Controversy

The sentence comes with a great amount of criticism. The biggest criticism is that the convicted individual faces anxiety over whether they will eventually be executed. Some are also skeptical about releasing capital criminals, such as murderers, into society, even if under strict monitoring. Proponents of the practice say that it allows criminals to prove themselves to be functional members of society, not needing to be executed. Other opponents claim that releasing criminals back into their lives only to be locked away for the rest of their life or executed after two years amounts to mental torture, as the person becomes attached to their life and then has it taken away. The criminal is also automatically executed if they break any terms of release. This may leave them in a state of fear of unintentionally breaking a rule.

The United Nations has encouraged China to abolish capital punishment altogether, rather than putting criminals through a potentially torturous process.

See also

• Capital offences in China
• Reprieve

References

1. Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PDF) (in Chinese), Government of the People's Republic of China, 4 April 1997, retrieved 20 August 2012
2. Trevaskes, Susan (May–June 2008). "The Death Penalty in China Today: Kill Fewer, Kill Cautiously". Asian Survey. 48 (3): 393–413. doi:10.1525/as.2008.48.3.393. hdl:10072/26121.
3. Scobell, Andrew (September 1990). "The Death Penalty in Post-Mao China". China Quarterly. 123 (123): 503–520. doi:10.1017/S0305741000018890.