For the most part, modern justice tends to be humane, and even criminals who have committed serious offenses can count on acceptable living conditions in prisons. Of course, such a tendency is not characteristic of every justice system; in some countries of the world, the death penalty is still in force today. Thus, shootings in China, one of the most developed states from the economic and social point of view, cause a significant resonance in society.
General Information on the Death Penalty in China
The judicial system in the PRC operates very clearly and efficiently, death sentences are imposed and executed extremely quickly, without any delay. Execution can be carried out in one of two ways: a shot from a weapon or by injection. Executions in China are carried out in most cases, but recently the trend has begun to change slightly. This is usually explained by the following factors:
- Increased safety for executors of the sentence (death by injection reduces the likelihood of contracting HIV infection during the cleaning of the territory after execution).
- Maintaining the image of the country (it is believed that injections are much more humane than a shot in the back of the head).
Fatal injections today are for the most part used for people who have committed crimes of an economic nature, but drug trafficking and murders are punishable exclusively with weapons.
Executions in China are carried out more often than in any other country in the world. It should be remembered that such a high rate is primarily due to the total population, because individual states have more significant mortality per capita compared to China. Unfortunately, the exact death toll as a result of the court decision cannot be called; such information in China is considered a state secret and is reliably hidden from the local and world public. On the international Internet you can find lists of executed people, but their authenticity remains a serious question.
Possible reasons for the death penalty
The punishment of criminals through the death penalty in the PRC is carried out on a number of articles (today 55, previously 68). In most cases, they relate to corruption and drug trafficking. Conventionally, they can be divided into the following categories:
- High treason, espionage, rioting.
- Theft of public funds and values.
- Corrupt practices.
- Negligence, resulting in major disasters.
- Rape.
- The manufacture of food and medicine, the use of which for its intended purpose, may result in death or damage to health.
- Drug trafficking.
- Kidnapping.
Court algorithm
How is the death penalty imposed in a country like China? The execution of officials, ministers and ordinary delinquent citizens is carried out according to the standard algorithm, tested over the years. The decision on the execution by one method or another is made quite quickly, without delay and lengthy proceedings. The whole trial can be conditionally divided into the following stages:
- The trial. Held by a people's court (interim).
- Sentencing.
- Appeal (double), final ruling.
Execution Algorithm
The execution of the sentence is also fairly standardized. The execution procedure involves the following nuances:
- Notification of the local prosecutor's office about the decision made, appointment of persons who control the execution of the execution or injection.
- Verification of the identity of the offender, clarification of his last wishes.
- Transportation of the offender to the place of execution (execution is not carried out publicly, can be carried out in prison or in special territory designated for these purposes).
- Execution of the decision.
- Drawing up a written record of the treasury by the clerk
- Drawing up a report on the execution of sentences by the executor of the verdict for the Supreme People's Court.
- Informing the relatives of the criminal about the justice that has happened.
Possible relief
In what cases is the shooting in China for corruption and other serious crimes not carried out? There are several circumstances that allow the offender to escape the death penalty. These include the following:
- Age less than 18 years at the time of the commission of the criminal offense (relief is enshrined in article 49 of the Criminal Code).
- The scene of the crime is Hong Kong or Macau. A separate judicial system is provided for these territories.
Why is publicity needed?
As mentioned earlier, idle onlookers are rarely allowed to be shot in China, photos of the process, however, often get to the press, and everyone can get acquainted with them. For the most part, such access to information is connected with the desire of the authorities to provoke a sense of fear among citizens and to prevent the commission of offenses in the future.
Anyone can be guilty!
Such brutal measures apply not only to ordinary people. Periodically, information appears in the press that, for example, a minister was shot in China. So, in 2008, justice overtook Wang Zhengdong, the founder of the financial pyramid, who fraudulently lured more than four hundred million dollars from depositors. In 2009, two large entrepreneurs were shot, whose activities entailed the death of several children and severe poisoning of hundreds of thousands of citizens (they were producers of low-quality milk).
The shooting of a minister in China (or another major politician) has long surprised no one. So, one of the most high-profile cases is the sentencing of the mayor of Hangzhou for abuse of office and receiving bribes. Currently, the punishment has not yet been executed due to the introduction of a temporary moratorium.
Among other things, capital punishment can be applied to citizens of foreign countries, if they committed a certain unlawful act in China.
Scandalous stories of neighbors
No less resonance in society was caused by the information that recently the Minister of Defense was shot in the DPRK. In China, officials of such a high rank have not yet been subjected to such punishments. According to media reports, such a decision was taken directly by decree of Kim Jong-un, the current head of the DPRK. The official article imputed to the high official is treason to the Motherland, but popular rumor attributed to him the failure to comply with the orders of the leadership and an expression of obvious disrespect for him. There was no official confirmation of the event, which is why it is still not known for certain whether the defense minister was shot in the DPRK. In China, this information is not confirmed in any way and does not have information about the situation in the territory of the nearest neighbor.
The wind of change
Recently, in the media it is increasingly possible to find information that executions in China and the death penalty in general will be suspended for two whole years. A similar decision was made by the Supreme People’s Court, but at the same time the authorities left a small loophole: executions will be carried out if their immediate implementation is urgently necessary. Of course, the criteria for urgency are not defined and very vague. Despite the controversy and inefficiency of the decision, such a step nevertheless contributes to the humanization of local laws. This is also evidenced by the reduction in the number of articles providing for the deprivation of life of the offender.