A comparison of wrongful convictions in death penalty cases between China and the United States

In recent years, both China and the United States (US) have discovered numerous wrongful convictions, including several cases in which innocent people have been sentenced to death. These discoveries have led both countries to reform the death penalty but the extent and nature of the reforms in each country have been greatly different. This article explores the similarities and differences between the nature of wrongful convictions in death penalty cases in China and the US. It will also compare the reforms undertaken in each country. On the whole, the US has made greater progress in the prevention and correction of wrongful convictions involving the death penalty, especially in the areas of evidentiary rules and post-conviction review. In order for China to match America's success, it is necessary that China adopt more substantive reforms. China should learn from America's experience and should continue to adopt international standards of criminal justice, such as due process rights, the presumption of innocence and the exclusion of illegally obtained evidence. In the interim, China should immediately suspend all executions until adequate reforms can be carried out. Ultimately, China should surpass the US in criminal-justice reform and in the field of human rights protection by completely abolishing the death penalty and creating a more effective mechanism for criminal punishment.     

关于站车交接案件的调研报告

站车交接案件是铁路公安机关最具特色的案件类别,抓好站车交接案件办理工作,是发挥铁路公安机关整体作战优势,实现“以地保车”,及时有效打击违法犯罪的重要勤务模式.在修改后的《刑事诉讼法》颁布实施,特别是在当前铁路公安改制转型、公安职能理性回归的大背景下,更应采取各项行之有效的工作措施,进一步规范办理站车交接案件,切实提高办案质量,更好地为铁路的持续安全稳定发展大局服务.     

论刑法作为宪法的罚则及二者的关系模式

目前关于宪法和刑法关系的表述,是一种基于宪法文本的解读,没有论及当前的法律设计是否合理。宪法是法律世界的统领,为个人权利对抗刑罚权力提供平台,形成对刑法审视,并且贯穿定罪和量刑两大根本领域。具体而言,对宪法秩序的破坏是犯罪行为具有严重社会危害性的指针和标准;只有宪法才能说明刑罚的正当性来源于人民。因此,刑法是宪法的一种罚则,宪法在由精神、原则和规范所组成的框架内指引着刑法的创设和发展。     

职务犯罪轻刑化现象反思

职务犯罪轻刑化成为普遍现象,引起社会广泛关注.职务犯罪轻刑化主要表现为立案起点高,自首适用标准宽泛,缓、免刑率高及刑罚执行不严格.这一现象成因包括对该类犯罪的认识不到位、官本位文化的影响、因取证难使得自首情节适用率高、审判人员被干扰及枉法裁判、执行阶段标准控制不严等.遏制职务犯罪轻刑化路径要强化对职务犯罪立案及侦查过程的监督、强化用量刑建议权对审判的监督、落实上下两级人民检察院对案件第一审判决同步审查机制及加强对刑罚执行阶段的监督等.     

“醉酒型”危险驾驶罪的量刑标准——以司法理性与审判效率的契合为视角

鉴于＂醉酒型＂危险驾驶罪在《刑法修正案（八）》施行一年之际暴露出的诸多困境,司法实践应从出罪途径和量刑标准两个方面来破解定罪界限与量刑失衡现状：通过反证抽象危险的不存在及适用总则第13条来构建合理的出罪路径,以期坚守司法理性和刑法的谦抑性;通过量刑规范化来统一量刑标准和程序参与,确定从量刑起点直至宣告刑中各个环节的标准和影响幅度。从而＂以看得见的形式＂实现量刑的规范和公正,最大限度地实现司法的公正、效率和社会认可。     

The terror/counterterror edge: when non-terror becomes a terrorism problem and real terror cannot be detected by counterterrorism

On the basis of cases such as the recent ban on the building of minarets in Switzerland or the prohibition on wearing a burka in France and the Netherlands, and the passage of terrorism legislation in various European countries in which there has never been a terrorism problem, as well as the recent history of counterterrorism in the United States, this paper examines how non-terror can become a terrorism problem and non-risk ideologically risky, while at the same time the real threats go undetected. The international prominence gained by Spanish Prime Minister Jose María Aznar when the George W. Bush administration declared a worldwide ‘War on Terror’ shows the political capital attached to terrorist risk. Countries may act as if afflicted by a case of ‘terrorism envy’ when non-risk may be perceived as political irrelevance. This paper argues that the dynamics of terrorism/counterterrorism should be seen in the cultural context of taboo while displaying the qualities of the Lacanian edge: a self-generating process that simultaneously links and separates them in a ‘non-relationship’ that is constitutive of the entire phenomenon.     

论刑事和解对刑罚功能发挥的影响——基于双重预防的反思

刑事和解对刑罚功能发挥的影响一直是引人关注的话题,新（《刑事诉讼法》对于刑事和解程序的相关规定一定程度上缓解了两者之间的紧张关系,但是在剥夺犯罪人再犯能力、完善个别威慑实际效果、降低改造难度、提高一般鉴别等刑罚具体功能的发挥上,刑事和解的消极影响仍然存在,努力将这些消极影响控制在合理范围之内将是刑事和解实践中的重点工作。     

我国刑事错案防控与纠错机制之思考——张高平叔侄案引发的思考

刑事案件的错案防控与纠错机制,体现国家的人权保护状态、刑事司法水平,国家的法治文明状态以及司法权与其他国家权力的宪法关系.本文以张高平叔侄案为契机,分析我国刑事错案产生的原因,在阐明转变执法理念的前提下,重点就法官独立司法、行为监督和责任追究的平衡和机制的构建上进行了论述.     

关于死刑案件中刑事和解的探讨

刑事和解在司法实践中的适用虽已初步形成思路,但在具体适用范围上尤其是在死刑案件能否适用刑事和解方面仍尚无定论,以致其在司法界的大胆尝试和学界的谨慎保留中处于尴尬境地.现阶段,死刑案件适用刑事和解纵然有其合理之处,然其终究难以避免与公权力的权威、公平正义和平等观念之间的冲突.笔者认为,死刑案件中被告人与被害人之间的和解并不符合刑事和解的本义,其实为国家救济制度建立之前的一种迫不得已的救济措施.因此,刑事和解不应延伸适用到死刑等重罪案件领域,国家应尽快建立国家救济制度以代替刑事和解在死刑案件中对被害人及其亲属的救助作用.     

审查起诉阶段刑事和解制度实施之困境与对策——以新刑诉法修改为背景

在理论论证与实践探索的双重支撑下,与恢复正义价值暗合的当事人和解制度终在新刑诉法中占得特别程序之席,比之既往的暗中摸索,新刑诉法使和解程序行之有依,操之有序,但法律规定确显粗糙,和解双方当事人对制度不解甚至产生误解,实施中与检察机关内部旧有考核制度冲突等问题亦渐渐浮现。为此,检察机关须先内而外,完善案件审查,加强和解监督,改革考核指标,方能为此制度成长提供广阔之天地。