China's culture concerning death has always been linked with such
terms as terror, demoralization and taboo. Putting the criminal to
death by excruciation has, since ancient times, been steeped in a
sanguinary scene. Precisely because of this, when one hears the
news that the law courts nationwide will popularize the practice of
putting the offender to death by giving him or her an injection,
one will feel from the bottom of one's heart that society is
progressing before our eyes. Therefore, trying our best to transmit
the information about this reform to the readers and record the
arduous course of this reform has become the reason why we have
chosen this topic.
On
September 13, a national working conference on carrying out death
sentence by giving the criminal an injection by the law court was
held in Kunming by the Supreme People's Court, which decided to
comprehensively carry out death sentence by the method of giving an
injection. This capital punishment work widely acknowledged by the
people is apparently a more civilized and scientific reform, in
fact, four years ago---
At
nine sharp a.m. that day, after the commander gave the execution
order, two bailiffs made a positive identification of criminal Zou
and helped him lying on the bed for execution and fixing him there,
then the bailiffs immediately stepped forward to give the offender
an intravenous on the right forearm and fix the transfer needle on
the arm. According to the determination made by the legal medical
expert, the process of injection took 3' 50", the process from
injection to the cessation of heart beating took 2' 50" to the
complete corediastasis took five minutes. During the whole process
of injection, the dead did not show any notable painful expression,
and there was no unusual condition after death. The whole process
proceeded in an orderly, very smooth way. All those present thought
that drug injection is a very civilized method for carrying out
death sentence. Those were the detailed descriptions about the
implementation of death sentence by the method of giving an
injection, descriptions given in an article carried in People's
Court Daily on September 15. The article said: The method of
capital punishment by giving an injection is a major event of a
pioneering, historic significance in China's criminal adjudication
in the new century.
Implementation of death sentence has always been a sensitive and
mysterious topic, to show the whole process of implementation of
death sentence exactly as it is to the public is in it a progress.
Then how does it come that this reform, which has profound
influence on the process of China's rule of law, has been
successful in experiment in such a short period of time and has
been able to spread throughout the country? What influence does it
have on other adjudication links? Is it that all criminals
sentenced to death can demand death by injection? With the question
in mind, the reporter had an interview with a person concerned.
Only a Few Persons Know the "Top Secret Subject"
The Intermediate People's Court of Kunming City is the court that
was the first to carry out death sentence by the method of drug
injection in the country. President Zhang of the court who knew the
whole process of "death by injection subject" told the reporter:
The Kunming Intermediate People's Court had spent half a year's
time in preparation for carrying out death by the method of drug
injection.
He
said: in 1996, China began to revise the Criminal Procedure Law of
the People's Republic of China, setting forth the methods for
execution of criminals by shooting and drug injecting. Although the
new criminal law had not been put into effect at that time,
however, as a law court engaging in the experimental reform of the
adjudication method, we felt it would definitely be the general
trend to use more civilized methods for carrying out death
sentence, there must be someone who is the first to take a step
forward and make a good beginning. To this end, a topic group
composed of a vice-president and legal medical experts was formed
in the court, which set about to make preparation for carrying out
death sentence by drug injection. Under the circumstance prevailing
at that time, implementation of death sentence was a very sensitive
topic, our preparatory work was carried out under a top secret
state, and we were prepared that once we succeed we'll go on with
this method; if we fail we'll retreat.
The topic group consulted a lot of materials and allotted four
kinds of injection drugs, did repeated tests on animal bodies,
finally we obtained a fairly successful recipe. On January 1, 1997,
the new "Criminal Law" was formally put into effect, thus putting
implementation of death sentence by the methods of shooting and
injecting in legal form. On March 28 that same year, we took the
lead in successfully carrying out the death sentence on two
criminals by the method of injection.
"Death by Injection" Suspended for Sometime
The reporter learned through interview that the Kunming
Intermediate Court was investigated and prosecuted for the issue of
criminal procedure fee, the practice of carrying out death sentence
by the method of injection was suspended for a while, and the
method of putting the criminal to death by shooting was restored.
In the words of President Zhang, the suspension was due to the
"leader's failure to attend to the matter because of
decentralization of their energy", not because of the question of
"death by injection" itself, but it also shows the degree of the
arduousness of this reform, at that time, leaders of the Kunming
Intermediate Court had to do things assigned to them with great
caution.
Today, why is it that reform in relation to the method of capital
punishment, unlike other reforms, cannot be carried out in a big
way from the very outset, but invariably gives people a timid and
overcautious sense? Maybe there are two reasons.
First, the reason for the action itself. A thing concerning life or
death is by no means a trifling matter. Even though it is dealing
with a criminal sentenced to death, the court ought to handle the
matter with prudence.
Second, it may be the question concerning social concept, although
execution has, since ancient times, traversed a course from
primitiveness and savage to civilization and progress, however, the
transition from the gun shot on the execution grounds, that matches
the most heinous crime committed by the criminal, to a "gentle
injection" with the criminal lying on the bed, is a leaping
psychological process which everybody should have. Then how do the
judge, expert and the criminal himself look upon "death by
injection"?
According to President Zhang, the development from putting criminal
to death by shooting to death by injection represents another
process of society to civilization. He said: implementing death
sentence by shooting needs to bind the criminal and there will be
blood and holes on the body of the dead criminal. Whereas "death by
injection" makes the person concerned just like falling asleep.
Now, before we carried out the death sentence and when we finally
asked the capital prisoners what did they have to say, many of them
preferred "death by injection".
The reporter asked: execution aims to punish and awe criminals, how
does the use of "death by injection" give expressions to this aim?
President Zhang said: There were five forms of punishment in feudal
society, according to the seriousness of the guilt of the criminal,
the execution methods were also divided into classes of different
degrees of cruelty, such as putting the criminal to death by
dismembering the body and cutting him in two at the waist. The
criminal law theory of New China is: depriving the criminal of his
right to subsistence is the highest punishment and deterrence of
the criminal, as to what method should be used for deprivation, it
has no direct links with the severity of crimes.
Chen Xingliang, criminal law professor of Peking University,
is of the view: The transition from death by shooting to death by
injection actually conforms to the international development trend.
Execution in the ancient society actually aimed to create pain for
the capital prisoner, trying by all means to create a sanguinary
scene on the execution grounds, so as to achieve the effect of
frightening the criminal. To a great extent, it actually set a bad
example for the people and made people psychologically become
hard-hearted. This does not help prevent the occurrence of crimes,
but instead plays the role of setting an example of cruelty, thus
running counter to humanity and civilization. In today's world,
there are half of the countries which have abolished capital
punishment, countries which have not yet done away with death
sentence, have set strict restriction on capital punishment. We
change the method for the implementation of capital punishment, so
that capital punishment will become more civilized and scientific,
this exactly conforms to the international trend.
Professor Chen also said: in the United Nations' Convention on the
protection of ordinary people's death, it is stipulated: It is
necessary to try as far as possible to be humane, and reduce the
pain of a person sentenced to death. "Death by injection" has
changed the situation in which there are crowds of onlookers
watching how a criminal is put to death by shooting on the
execution grounds, this puts great psychological pressure on the
capital prisoner, and changed the process which brings
physiological pain to him as a bullet goes through his body. "Death
by injection", like a kind of "euthanasia", makes sure that while
depriving the arch criminal of his life, no other pain is added to
him, this, without a doubt, represents a kind of progress.
Whether a Criminal Is Put to "Death by Injection": Different
Methods of Formulation in the Proclamation
According to related information: The main implementing methods
used in the 99 countries in the present-day world which still
retain capital punishment include: death by hanging, stone
execution (use stones to smash the criminal to death),
electrocution, beheading, gas poisoning, death by shooting and
toxic injection. Most countries use the method of death by shooting
and death by hanging. In the world today, countries carrying out
capital punishment by the method of injection are the United States
and China only. Local courts in Kunming, Chengdu, Changsha, Beijing
and others in China have now successfully carried out capital
punishment by the method of injection.
Then will all the capital prisoners be put to death by the method
of injection in the future? Media reports disclose that death by
injection is suitable for such a situation wherein criminals given
capital punishment are small in number, are in advanced in age and
in difficulty of movement, but this is not absolute, with regard to
what criminals are suitable for the use of death by shooting, and
what criminals are suitable for the use of death by injection,
there are no explicit legal stipulations, therefore, the method
finally used is determined by the executive law court in light of
the situation, while the criminal has no right to choose between
death by shooting and death by injection.
President Zhang says: According to the stipulations of the Supreme
People's Court, whether the method of death by shooting or by
injection is used to carry out capital punishment, there are
different formulations in the Proclamation on capital punishment.
The method of death by shooting is described as "dispatching the
criminal to the execution grounds and shooting him or her dead";
the method of death by injection is described as "dispatching the
criminal to the execution grounds and put him or her to death".
Over the past few years, the use of the method of death by
injection has all along been in a trial stage, the convening of the
conference on comprehensively carrying out capital punishment by
the method of death by injection indicates that this item of work
has begun to advance toward maturity and identification has been
achieved in concept. This exactly shows that civilization and
progress are the common pursuit of human society.
Lethal Injection Introduced As Form of Execution in China
A
senior official from the Supreme People's Court disclosed today
that China will adopt lethal injections in execution of death
sentence across the country. Executing criminals by shooting will
also continue, the official said.
( 09/28/2001)