AP News, June 8th, 2007
The number of death sentences meted out by Chinese courts has dropped since legislation was introduced requiring the approval of the country's highest court before anyone is executed, state media said Friday.
The amendment to China's capital punishment law, enacted in November, was a step forward for the country, which is believed to carry out more court-ordered executions than all other nations combined.
Figures from the Beijing No. 1 and No. 2 intermediate people's courts suggest that, in the first five months of 2007, the number of death sentences dropped 10 percent from last year, the China Daily newspaper said without elaborating.
The report cited Ni Shouming, spokesman for the Supreme Court, as saying the situation was similar nationwide, although he wouldn't give details.
"The lower courts have to be more prudent now," Ni was quoted as saying. He said if the highest court sends back a case for a retrial, it not only means that the first judgment is wrong but that it is "a matter of shame for the lower court."
The report also cited Chen Weidong, a criminal law expert from Renmin University, who predicted the number of death sentences would drop by 20 percent this year. No specifics were given.
It is difficult to confirm the newspaper report because China doesn't officially release such figures and international rights organizations do not know the exact number of executions carried out in the country every year.
Under the amended law the Supreme People's Court must approve all death sentences, ending a 23-year-old practice of giving the final review to provincial courts. The amendment follows reports of executions of wrongly convicted people and criticism that lower courts arbitrarily impose the death sentence.
China is believed to carry out more court-ordered executions than all other nations combined. Amnesty International says China executed at least 1,770 people in 2005 _ about 80 percent of the world's total.
The true number is thought to be many times higher. London-based Amnesty has cited a senior member of China's national legislature as saying some 10,000 people are executed each year.
While the country's top legal bodies have urged a reduction in the number of death sentences, they have said that capital punishment cannot completely be abolished.
Amnesty International says China executed at least 1,770 people in 2005, but the true number is thought to be many times higher.
