The Lunar New Year is getting closer and closer, and on January 31, two cases of "human and god's anger" are waiting for executions. Chongqing's "Miss Brother Falling Death Case" Zhang Bo and Ye Chengchen were executed; Wu Xieyu, the criminal in the "Mother Murder Case", was executed. The two executions gave the public a sigh of relief and waited for justice to be achieved.
China's basic death penalty policy is to retain the death penalty and apply it strictly, and the death penalty is only applicable to criminals who have committed extremely serious crimes. Retaining the death penalty is the bottom line for China's approach to the death penalty; Restricting the death penalty is the main line of China's approach to the death penalty; Preventing wrongful homicide is the red line of China's approach to the death penalty. The three should not be neglected. The death sentences and executions of the "Miss Chongqing Brother Falling to Death" and "Mother Murder Case" accurately explain China's death penalty policy, and the death penalty is a necessary means to demonstrate fairness and justice.
First of all,The deprivation of the right to life is the most severe punishment for criminals, so the death penalty is also called "capital punishment". As the most severe punishment, it can only be used to punish extremely serious crimes.
In the Chongqing "Miss Brother Fall Death Case", Ye Chengchen knew that Zhang Bo's children would be raised by his ex-wife, but still urged and forced Zhang Bo to commit the crime many times, and finally the two children who were only one and two years old were brutally thrown downstairs and died. In the "Mother Murder Case", the Supreme People's Court held during the death penalty review that Wu Xie Yu's crime of intentional homicide was cruel, the circumstances were heinous, and the crime was extremely serious, which seriously violated human ethics and morality, and seriously trampled on the public's cognition and feelings. In both cases, all three convicts have met the death penalty criterion of "extremely serious crimes" and there are no mitigating statutory circumstances.
Secondly,The death penalty is conducive to deterrence and prevention of serious crime; In the face of "extreme evil", it is difficult to demonstrate social fairness and justice without the application of the death penalty, and it is difficult to soothe the psychological trauma of victims and their families, and to defuse social panic.
It is human nature to be happy to live and fear deathThe death penalty can effectively deter potential criminals who try to take risks, break their "illusions", and in fact play the effect of "killing to kill". For example, Wu Xie Yu killed his mother with extremely cruel means, and after being caught, he still had a strong desire to survive, hoping to "live and be a useful person to society", and he had no sincerity of remorse. The resolute execution of the death penalty is conducive to promoting social justice and breaking the delusions of potential criminals: students who study well and are not students from prestigious schools are not gold medals for avoiding death.
Third, the application of the death penalty should be extremely cautious, resolutely put an end to the occurrence of wrongful convictions, fully protect the defendant's procedural rights and defense rights, ensure that defenders exercise their defense rights in accordance with the law, meticulously consolidate evidence, and not let go of any doubtful points.
"Everyone in the country says that they can be killed, and then they can be investigated", and the death penalty must be cautious. In addition to the second-instance final adjudication procedures for death penalty cases, China's Criminal Procedure Law also sets up a special death penalty review procedure, whereby the Supreme People's Court conducts a comprehensive review of the evidence and procedures in death penalty cases to ensure that every death penalty case becomes an ironclad case. In terms of the process of the case, Wu Xie Yu experienced nearly 5 years from his arrest in 2019 to his execution; Chongqing's "Miss Brother Falling Death Case" has also gone through more than 3 years, and has been called "** lived for several more years" by netizens, which is also the embodiment of the people's court's cautious punishment, and must not allow any suspicious point to be brought into the execution ground.
Zhang Bo, Ye Chengchen, Wu XieyuThe execution of three criminals for extremely serious crimes in accordance with the law demonstrates the seriousness, legitimacy and necessity of China's death penalty system: the death penalty is cruel, but sometimes it is necessary for justice.
*: The Paper.