Abstract

Info

Title:: How Is It Possible to Abolish Death Penalty in Terms of the Doctrine of Criminal Law?

Keywords:: death penalty; applicable standard; social science jurisprudence; doctrine of criminal law; self-fulfilling prophecy

Abstract:: The application standard of death penalty is a hot area of concern in the doctrine of criminal law. When jurists construct the application standard of the death penalty with a rational view and see the current judicial practice in China from this perspective, there will inevitably be a conflict between the rational view and the realistic view of death penalty. The rational view of death penalty takes judicial abolition of the death penalty as its basic goal, and advocates not to kill in the situation where the convicted criminal can be exempted from the death penalty. The realistic view may be constrained by such factors as political choice, social effects, and public opinion, and in the case where the death penalty is applied with great caution and under strict condition when whether to kill or not to kill the criminal is under controversy. The goal of the doctrine of criminal law is not only to pursue a fair judgment of individual cases and ensure the coordination between the handling of similar cases, but also to clarify the ideal of social development. In order to lead China to apply the death penalty more rationally, jurists must base themselves on the so-called “self-fulfilling prophecy”, construct the ideal of “judicial abolition of the death penalty” from the perspective of the doctrine of criminal law, and manage to convince the public and the policy makers.