Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Sentencing Law and Policy

Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

"Why Did China Reform It?s Death Penalty?"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the title of this interesting new paper by Kandis Scott that I just discovered on SSRN.  Here is the abstract: China recently reformed its death penalty procedures, and as a result the government has executed fewer prisoners.  The author explores possible explanations for and policy concerns behind this change and evaluates their implications for the future of the death penalty in China.  The influences for the change include international forces and domestic factors, such as academic criticism, the media, changed circumstances in society, compassion, and politics.  Although hardly transparent, the underlying motivations for the revisions suggest that China eventually may abolish capital punishment, perhaps before the United States does so...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on September 16, 2009 (boomark / email).