Press excerpts
Death Sentences in China
Top court reviews all death sentences
The Supreme People's Court will now take a closer look at death sentences passed by the local courts. From January 1, it will review all death sentences in the country.
Each case will be reviewed by a team of three judges. They will be required to check the facts, laws applied and criminal procedures adopted.
Courts at all levels must exercise extreme caution when passing the death sentence, and the penalty should be reserved for only an "extremely small number" of serious offenders.
Nie Shubin, a young farmer in North China's Hebei Province, was executed in 1995 after being convicted of raping and murdering a local woman. But early last year, a rape and murder suspect arrested by police confessed he had committed the crime.
Shaanxi 'Temple Killer' loses appeal, executed
Qiu Xinghua was executed with a single gunshot near a river in Ankang, Shaanxi Province. The court found that Qiu killed 10 people in a temple near his home, because he thought one of the victims flirted with his wife which was found to be not true. However, lawyers and scholars have voiced doubts about Qiu's mental state.
Some experts believe that Qiu was clear-minded while committing the crimes. Li Meijin, a psychology professor at the Chinese People's Public Security University, said Qiu filled in a psychological questionnaire which showed he was in control of his faculties.
Gang members sentenced in Loudi
Seven of the 97-member gang, which committed crimes as murder, gambling, blackmailing and drug trafficking from 1990 to 2003, were sentenced to death, four to suspended death, and seven to life imprisonment.
----------
China issues white paper on national defense
- China pursues a national defense policy which is purely defensive in nature.
- Its strategic task is to build a powerful and fortified national defense, to build informationized armed forces being capable of winning informationized wars by the mid-21st century.
No comments:
Post a Comment