The defendant obtained the victim's forgiveness, and the victim issued a letter of understanding, indicating that the damaged social relations had been repaired to a certain extent. Therefore, criminal forgiveness is a very important statutory discretionary sentencing circumstance.
From a substantive point of view, if the evidence in the case can indeed be convicted, a criminal forgiveness is obtained, and the criminal suspect or defendant admits guilt and accepts punishment, obtaining the victim's forgiveness can be an important consideration in the procuratorate's sentencing recommendation, and the court can give the defendant a lighter or lenient punishment. In addition, obtaining the victim's forgiveness may even affect the specific application of the sentence, increasing the possibility of a suspended sentence and life saving.
From a procedural point of view, after obtaining the victim's forgiveness, there is a possibility that the arrest will not be authorized and the coercive measure will be changed to release on bail pending trial. It may also cause the public security organs to withdraw the case and the procuratorate to make a decision not to prosecute, which will affect the direction of the litigation process.
According to the "Guiding Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Sentencing for Common Crimes", the role of criminal understanding in criminal cases is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
If the victim is actively compensated for the economic losses and forgiveness is obtained, the base sentence may be reduced by up to 40%.
Even if there is no compensation, the base sentence can be reduced by up to 20% if an understanding is obtained.
In the case of positive compensation but no forgiveness, the base sentence may be reduced by up to 30 per cent.
It should be noted that crimes that seriously endanger social security, such as robbery, **, etc., should be strictly controlled. In addition, a criminal letter of understanding is usually completed from the initiation of the indictment to the cross-examination of evidence in court, and has the effect of discretionary mitigation or mitigating effect in criminal law.