刑罚的伦理价值

刑罚是刑法的核心。作为法律概念,刑罚充分体现了法律和道德之间密不可分的联系。体现这种联系的一个重要方面就在于刑罚必须具有正义、功利和公平这三种既相互联系又相互区别的伦理属性。正义是刑罚存在的基础,功利是刑罚追求的目的,公平是贯穿刑罚始终的原则和方法。     

A retrospective comparative study to evaluate the reliability of post-mortem interval sources in UK and US medico-legal death investigations

Post-mortem interval (PMI) information sources may be subject to varying degrees of reliability that could impact the level of confidence associated with PMI estimations in forensic taphonomy research and in the practice of medico-legal death investigation. This study aimed to assess the reliability of PMI information sources in a retrospective comparative analysis of 1813 cases of decomposition from the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner in Pittsburgh, US (n = 1714), and the Crime Scene Investigation department at Southwest Forensics in the UK (n = 99). PMI information sources were subjected to a two-stage evaluation using an adapted version of the 3x5 aspects of the UK police National Intelligence Model (NIM) to determine the confidence level associated with each source. Normal distribution plots were created to show the distribution frequency of the dependent variables (decomposition stage and source evaluation) by the independent variable of PMI. The manner, location, and season of death were recorded to ascertain if these variables influenced the reliability of the PMI. A confidence matrix was then created to assess the overall reliability and provenance of each PMI information source. Reliable PMI sources (including forensic specialists, missing persons reports, and digital evidence) were used across extensive PMI ranges (1 to 2920 days in the US, and 1 to 240 days in the UK) but conferred a low incidence of use with forensic specialists providing a PMI estimation in only 35% of all homicide cases. Medium confidence PMI sources (e.g., last known social contact) accounted for the majority of UK (54%, n = 54) and US (82%, n = 1413) cases and were associated with shorter PMIs and natural causes of death. Low confidence PMI sources represented the lowest frequencies of UK and US cases and exclusively comprised PMI information from scene evidence. In 96% of all cases, only one PMI source was reported, meaning PMI source corroboration was overall very low (4%). This research has important application for studies using police reports of PMI information to validate PMI estimation models, and in the practice of medico-legal death investigation where it is recommended that i) the identified reliable PMI sources are sought ii) untested or unreliable PMI sources are substantiated with corroborating PMI information, iii) all PMI sources are reported with an associated degree of confidence that encapsulates the uncertainty of the originating source.     

the death penalty: An American history

Stuart Banner's thoughtful book, The Death Penalty: An American History (2002), serves as the basis of this review essay which explores the forces shaping the nation's experiences with capital punishment. The essay traces Banner's account of important death penalty developments throughout American history and examines justifications traditionally offered in support of capital punishment, issues of administration, and execution protocols. It concludes by projecting that, consistent with historical trends and nagged by serious and recurring administrative problems, the death penalty in America will in due course become a thing of the past.     

Effects of psychopathy and violence risk testimony on mock juror perceptions of dangerousness in a capital murder trial

The recent introduction of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) into the sentencing phase of capital murder trials has heightened concerns about the potentially prejudicial impact of such information on jurors, who might give disproportionate weight to this diagnosis when determining whether a defendant is a “continuing threat to society”. To investigate this issue, 238 undergraduates read a case summary based on US v. Barnette ( ), in which prosecution testimony was presented regarding the presence of a mental disorder (psychopathy, psychosis, or no disorder). Compared to the “no disorder” condition, participants rated psychopathic defendants as more likely to be violent in the future, even though testimony related to level of risk (high or low) was held constant. The difference in perceived dangerousness across the psychopathy and no disorder groups was particularly pronounced when the experts described the defendant as being at low risk. A similar pattern of effects was noted for the psychosis condition, suggesting that the impact of mental disorder testimony on perceptions of dangerousness may not necessarily be specific to the PCL-R.     

我国农村妇女自杀问题初探

农村妇女自杀问题已成为我国当前一个日益凸显的社会问题。家庭暴力、传统文化的落后思想、经济能力不足等是导致农村妇女自杀率高的主要原因。为解决农村妇女自杀问题,必须采取加大教育普及力、提高执法力和加强对农村妇女的心理援助等重要防治举措。     

公共警告与“信息惩罚”之间的正义——“农夫山泉砒霜门事件”折射的法律命题

"农夫山泉砒霜门事件"缘自海口市工商局一则错误的公共警告,伤害了合法商家,造成了社会恐慌,又有损政府的公信力。"砒霜门"并非偶然事件,从法律社会学的角度分析肇生事端的公共警告,可以看到它正是我们这个时代的需求——既能满足风险社会里公众的安全信息需求,又能成为行政机关有效促进法律实施的惩罚(制裁)手段。公共警告像一切权力一样既可能为善又可能为恶,我国相关法制的疏漏造成了"砒霜门"式事件一再发生,需要强化法律治理以实现正义。     

试论行政法律原则在检验检疫行政处罚中的适用

法律原则是法的精髓,它以其特有的恒久性、抽象性和普遍适用性等特点对成文法的滞后性等弊端予以弥补与调整。但其在检验检疫行政处罚等具体执法工作中的适用只能在成文法规则缺失、法条含义模糊、适用法律规则显失公正、法律规则冲突无明确解决方法等时机出现时才能充当其替补角色,而且具体运用时还应遵循相关的限制条件。     

论绑架罪的修正构成的解释与适用——兼评修正案对绑架罪的修改

刚刚通过的《中华人民共和国刑法修正案(七)》对于绑架罪进行了部分修正,增设了"情节较轻"的减轻构成规定,这虽然具有重要的意义,但是这一减轻构成的评价、理解与适用本身仍是问题。在对绑架罪的减轻构成从规定方式到下限选择作了评述之后,文章继而讨论了对于"情节较轻"的具体理解问题,特别指出在规定了绑架罪"情节较轻"的构成之后要避免的几种错误倾向。同时,修正案对于绑架罪的加重构成未作任何修改,这十分令人遗憾,而本着严格限制死刑适用的初衷,必须对于现有的加重构成进行严格的限制解释。总体而言,修正案对于绑架罪的修改虽有进步但不彻底,可谓是"半截子的革命"。     

浙江省江山市2005—2008年非法行医行政处罚案例分析

为对非法行医现象和行政处罚情况进行分析,从而为做好非法行医查处工作提出建议。我单位通过对江山市2005-2008年共86起非法行医行政处罚案例,从案由、违法主体类别、处罚情况等进行研究。研究结果显示,86例行政处罚中,以农村和城乡结合部为据点,以未取得《医疗机构执业许可证》擅自执业最多,其次是使用非卫生技术人员从事医疗卫生技术工作：主体类别以个体为主;罚款平均为每件次2994元,处罚额度过低。打击非法行医任务重、难度大,社会关注度高,需要加大执法力度,加强部门联动,加快社区卫生服务能力建设和完善合作医疗制度,强化培训,实行责任追究,建议修改相关法律法规,有效打击非法行医。     

论刑罚和行政处罚的关系与发展

刑罚和行政处罚是公法责任实现体系中最重要、最基本的组成部分。传统的公法责任实现体系以刑罚和行政处罚的衔接为基础,但现代法制带来的多元化的责任实现方式使传统的刑罚和行政处罚衔接的结构发生断层和交叉。立基于结果本位的犯罪观与立基于行为本位的犯罪观的冲突,引发了刑罚和行政处罚的衔接模式与劳动教养在关注焦点上的不同,前者以量的规定性界定行为的社会危害性,并以此作为责任实现形式体系的依据;后者以行为人的人格因素为关注焦点,以主观恶性为责任实现形式的基础。最终要实现刑罚和行政处罚衔接的结构与劳动教养整合,即公法责任实现形式的有机整合。