我国死刑制度改革的路径与步骤

死刑制度改革是当前中国刑事法领域乃至整个法治领域最受关注的重大现实法治问题。它关乎中国刑事法治的重大进步,关乎社会的文明发展,亦关乎国家发展的国际环境。其意义显然已超越了刑事法的视野,而为全社会所关注。中国法学会刑法学研究会会长赵秉志教授长期以来参予我国的死刑立法与改革,近年来发表了一系列关于死刑制度改革的文章,引起较大反响。为此,本刊刊载其关于本问题的访谈,以期对我国的死刑制度改革作一理性的反思,总结汲取经验教训,并探索未来的发展。     

论我国死刑制度的现状及其完善

现代刑法理论研究和国际刑法比较关注的热点问题和焦点问题是死刑问题,其中死刑也是我国刑法规定的一个重要刑种。中国的死刑政策是:"坚持少杀,反对多杀,错杀。"但如何在立法和司法上贯彻好这一政策,如何合理发挥好死刑的作用,是现在当务之急的事情。本文从中国死刑的政策以及我国死刑立法中的相关规定中总结了我国死刑制度的现状,从而可以在宏观上发现我国死刑制度在立法上和实践上的不足之处。并且,在借鉴中外死刑制度和参考了诸多刑法学学者的研究成果的基础上,对如何完善中国死刑制度提出了一些建议。主要是在立法上,本文主张废除不合理的死刑罪名,要进一步缩减死刑适用的主体,还建议明确死缓具体的适用条件;在司法实践中,不断完善死刑复核程序和执行程序和向公众公布死刑统计数据等。     

保留死刑国家故意杀人罪死刑适用研究

故意杀人罪是刑法中最为严重的犯罪之一.当今世界上所有保留死刑的国家均将故意杀人罪适用于死刑.但在废除死刑的国际大环境下,世界上保留死刑的国家也都通过刑事立法和司法实践只将死刑适用于极少数罪行极其严重的犯罪分子,故意杀人罪的死刑最终适用率并不高.这些国家的立法和实践经验对于中国推进司法改革,有效保护人权有着积极的借鉴意义.     

死刑废止与中国刑法改革浅论

死刑废止是法治发展的必然趋势，我国在逐步废除死刑方面已经取得了显著成效，但仍然存在很多缺憾，要求对刑法进行进一步改革。本文通过分析我国刑事法治现状提出一些建议，以期有益于刑事法治。     

我国台湾地区死刑控制及其对大陆死刑改革的启示

本文从立法和司法两个方面分析了我国台湾地区死刑立法模式、死刑适用条件、死刑适用范围、死刑规定方式的控制以及死刑案件程序、死刑赦免、死刑执行的控制,还分析了我国台湾地区死刑立法控制和司法控制的理念。通过这两个方面的分析发现,台湾地区死刑控制与我国大陆死刑的改革方向不谋而合,即对已满75周岁的老年人犯罪绝对不适用死刑。此外,台湾地区死刑控制对我国大陆死刑改革也有一定的启示,即将死刑适用的具体条件限定为危害生命或健康的严重犯罪;废除绝对死刑;提高无期徒刑的假释门槛、新增重罪累犯不得假释的规定、延长死刑追诉权期限;增设死刑案件强制上诉制度,等等。     

浅述中国死刑犯的人权保护制度

死刑是最严厉的刑罚制度,因其剥夺生命的方式,而导致现在有些国家和地区废除了死刑制度,但是在大多数国家和地区,现在仍然存在死刑制度,通过对死刑的执行过程实施人道主义,对死刑犯在一定范围内保护其人权,体现国家和社会的文明程度和发展情况。在中国,加强对死刑犯人权保护,立法、执法,体现了对犯罪的惩治,对受害者的保护等方面的协调程度以及社会文明程度。     

当代中国死刑改革争议问题论要简

死刑改革是当代中国刑法改革过程中最受关注、最具现实意义且备受争议的重大问题。中国虽难以在短期内全面废止死刑,但却有必要将废止死刑纳入其政策内涵。在功利与人道之间,人道性应当成为我国死刑改革最主要的根据。我国应以无期徒刑作为死刑的立法替代措施,适时建立死刑赦免制度,公开死刑执行的数字,并于适当时机废止贪污罪受贿罪的死刑。     

当代中国死刑改革争议问题论要

死刑改革是当代中国刑法改革过程中最受关注、最具现实意义且备受争议的重大问题。中国虽难以在短期内全面废止死刑,但却有必要将废止死刑纳入其政策内涵。在功利与人道之间,人道性应当成为我国死刑改革最主要的根据。我国应以无期徒刑作为死刑的立法替代措施,适时建立死刑赦免制度,公开死刑执行的数字,并于适当时机废止贪污罪受贿罪的死刑。     

浅析我国死刑制度

死刑制度是刑法中极为重要的一部分,死刑本身具有独特性,在刑法学研究领域是相当活跃的一个部分。死刑制度的取向以及死刑存废问题一直都是理论上和立法上的热点。我国现行死刑制度有其历史渊源和现实依据,有其存在的合理性,但也有需要根据时代的变化和发展进行调整的部分。本文正是要通过对我国现行死刑制度的介绍和分析,以求对我国的死刑制度形成一个相对全面的认识,进而对现行死刑制度进行一些有益的思考。     

媒介对大众死刑观的塑造——中国废除死刑的路径分析

民意赞同死刑既是支持立法上保留死刑的最基本论据之一,又是刑事司法中影响死刑判决的主要因素。在网络社会中,口语媒介、戏剧媒介、印刷媒介、影视媒介与现代互联网传播媒介交叉影响,通过对信息的加工、处理、控制,人为地塑造着大众的死刑观。因此,要废除死刑,就必须从媒介对文化观念的塑造功能入手。法学学者应当重视大众媒介与死刑观之间的关系,通过各种媒介制造、复制、传播、强化"反思死刑"的文化信息,积极参与大众媒介对中国死刑观的塑造、引导。     

国际人权与死刑──以国际人权法为线索的分析兼及中国的应对

国际人权法对死刑的态度经历了由放任到限制再到废除的转变。《世界人权宣言》对死刑以沉默显示放任;《公民权利与政治权利国际公约》等对死刑转向了限制;《旨在废除死刑的〈公民权利与政治权利国际公约〉第二议定书》等对死刑明令废除。中国现行死刑制度与国际人权法的要求尚存较大距离,应该采取必要的应对措施尽快缩短这一距离。     

死刑赦免制度构建的必要性和可行性分析

死刑赦免制度是限制死刑适用的重要途径。我国古代死刑赦免适用范围较为宽泛。我国宪法规定了赦免制度,刑法和刑事诉讼法提及了赦免。从1959年至1975年我国总共进行过7次特赦,之后没再实施过。在我国经济发展、社会进步、人权保障、政治昌明的今天,构建死刑赦免制度不仅必要而且切实可行。     

论我国死刑制度的立法抉择和司法限制

人们日渐清醒地认识到死刑有失公正性和人道性。在废除死刑已经成为国际社会发展趋势的今天,由于我国目前尚不具备废除死刑的条件,控制和限制死刑的适用则成为我国刑法理论界与实务界的当务之急。本文以此为前提,分析了我国刑事立法的抉择,并提出了在司法实践中如何把握限制死刑适用的相关问题。     

非监禁刑:文明社会的刑罚选择——以欧洲为视角的思考

刑罚作为社会文化的一部分,其发展与人类文明同步,文明程度越高,刑罚方法就越合乎人性。在人道的前提下,矫正罪犯是刑罚选择的目标之一。非监禁刑能够在欧洲普遍使用,就因为它既是一种比较人道的刑罚方法,又在矫正罪犯方面具有其独特的优势。我国在建立自己的非监禁刑体系时,既要借鉴欧洲非监禁刑的立法及司法实践的经验,又要从本国实情出发。在人道主义与矫正效果的前提下,对非监禁刑体系的设计不仅要体现时代性,还要注重实用性。     

死刑存废的立场

死刑作为一个国家的伦理文化积淀 ,其存废不能脱离某一国家特定时期的具体国情。当代中国之死刑需要在理性与感性的互动过程中渐入现代化之路 ,绝不能人为地强行废止 ;现实的妥当举措乃顺沿一般之强化、限制再到废止之轨迹 ,通过立法与司法双重限制之机制 ,达于最终废止之目的。     

The Courts in a Fragmented Criminal Justice System

The U.S. President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice under President Johnson in 1967 outlined a central role for courts in the criminal justice system. That role, however, has been somewhat diminished by the dominance of plea bargaining and the legislative enactment of mandatory minimum sentences that limit judges’ discretion. At the same time, judges have become more involved in specialized courts dealing in cases involving drugs and mental illness. A major topic of concern is the lower courts, which in many areas have changed little since the 1960s Commission. In those places, the traditional adversary process is not operating well, with many defendants pleading guilty unnecessarily in a system that may be designed primarily to collect fees. In violent crime cases, the imposition of capital punishment remains a controversial issue for states that is not likely to be resolved by a new national commission. The central court functions of sentencing and overseeing plea bargains are discussed elsewhere in this volume.     

Community Risk Management of High-Risk Sex Offenders in Canada: Findings From a Quasi-Experimental Study

Although considerable controversy surrounds capital punishment, there is no disagreement about the injustice of executing innocent persons. While critics of the death penalty have cited the risk of executing the innocent as a reason for its abolition, adherents have dismissed the risk of error as negligible, if not inevitable, and insufficient reason to halt capital punishment. Still others have proposed or enacted reforms designed to minimize the risk of erroneous capital convictions and sentences and, hence, allow executions to go forward in deserving cases in which doubts about guilt have largely been eradicated. In this article, we examine the principled tensions that accompany attempts simultaneously to safeguard the innocent from execution while promoting the objectives of capital punishment. We focus, in particular, on reforms recently incorporated into Maryland’s death penalty law. We suggest that the existing tensions between protecting the innocent from execution and promoting the objectives of capital punishment are so pronounced that attempted reconciliation of the competing interests is difficult to defend, either in principle or in practice.     

Explaining School Corporal Punishment: Evangelical Protestantism and Social Capital in a Path Model

School corporal punishment is associated with many negative outcomes. This research explores the antecedents to the practice and prevalence of school corporal punishment. A series of regression models indicated that two variables were significant predictors of a state’s practice of school corporal punishment: rate of evangelical Protestant adherents and social capital. A path analysis indicated that these two variables significantly predicted the rate of school corporal punishment in practicing states. The path analysis also revealed a significant and negative relationship between rate of evangelical Protestant adherents and social capital, but no relationship between rate of mainstream Protestant adherents and social capital. A mediation analysis indicated that social capital serves as a mediating variable between evangelical Protestantism and rate of school corporal punishment. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Explaining Capital Punishment Support in an Abolitionist Country: The Case of the Netherlands

A substantial minority (35%) of the Dutch population is in favor of capital punishment. In this paper, it is argued that in a staunchly abolitionist country such as The Netherlands, the existence and perseverance of such support can be better understood and explained by conceiving of capital punishment support in attitudinal terms as part of a law and order syndrome. Death penalty attitudes are analyzed by means of hierarchic logistic regression analysis. It is shown that support can be modeled quite well, partly in terms of general attitudes to criminal justice, partly in terms of political and sociodemographic parameters. Within the criminal justice attitudes complex, more support is found among those endorsing harsh treatment of offenders, those willing to grant far-reaching powers to justice authorities, those believing that the government is not delivering on the topic of crime fighting, and those who are concerned about the level of crime. Within the political context, more support is enlisted among people who abstain from voting and those who vote at either extreme of the political spectrum as opposed to central parties' supporters. In sociodemographic segments it is the younger and poorly educated who are the strongest supporters of capital punishment. It is suggested that endorsing capital punishment can be better understood as an expressive act, displaying dissatisfaction with judicial and political elites in the country.     

未成年人犯罪刑罚适用区域性考察及其罚则改革研究(下)

对云南省若干地区的实证考察表明,在未成年犯罪人的刑罚适用中存在诸多问题,例如,有期徒刑适用过多,管制、拘役刑基本空置;缓刑适用比例过低且存在很大的地区差异,司法分流的合法性有待确认等等。造成上述问题的原因很多,既有立法方面的,如立法不明确或缺乏弹性;也有司法或执法方面的,如考察机关负担过重,无力进行有效考察;还有地方因素的干扰,如过分强调刑罚的威慑作用等。为此,要解决上述问题,必须从立法、司法与执法三方面着手。在立法上须根据《联合国儿童权利公约》规定的确保未成年人最大利益的原则行事,增加处罚中的弹性规范;增设已在国内外被证明行之有效的某些刑罚制度,例如,缓诉制度、缓缴罚金制度、刑事前科报告免除制度、前科消灭制度等;在司法与执法中应完善相关机制,以扩大缓刑等制度的适用范围,并采取有效措施,加强部门合作,消除地区差异。