Why did college students stabbed Didi driver with a suspended death sentence? Can the sentence be reduced by restricting the reduction of sentence?

　　On the afternoon of September 24, Hunan Changde Intermediate People's Court issued a first-instance verdict on the case of “a freshman who stabbed a Didi driver due to world-weariness”. The court sentenced the defendant Yang Baiqi to a two-year suspension of death sentence for intentional homicide and restricted commutation.

　　In the middle of the night on March 23, 2019, Yang Baiqi, a freshman in Changde City, was pessimistic and tired of the world. He bought a dagger online and stabbed to death the 43-year-old Didi driver Chen Hong, and then surrendered.

Appraised by the Judicial Appraisal Center, Yang Baiqi was diagnosed with depression.

Part of the first-instance verdict of Yang Baiqi's intentional murder case.

　　The result of this trial caused a heated discussion among netizens: Why is the death sentence not sentenced to the crime of intentional homicide?

　　On the evening of September 24, Deng Xiangrui, a well-known criminal defense lawyer and associate professor of Hunan University Law School, told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) that in this case, Yang Baiqi limited (part of) his criminal liability capacity when committing harmful acts, and his spirit at the time of the crime The status is different from that of a normal person. The punishment can be lightened or mitigated in accordance with the law. The sentence of death with a reprieve is in line with the criminal law principle of "commitment to crime, responsibility and punishment."

In addition, his close relatives paid for the funeral expenses of the victim, which is also a discretionary circumstance.

　　He Luchuan, a lawyer from Hunan Gangwei Law Firm, said that the death penalty with a two-year reprieve is not a separate penalty. It is still the death penalty, but only a method of execution.

The death penalty may still be executed under certain circumstances.

Why not execute the death sentence immediately?

　　After the verdict of the first instance was pronounced, the official website of the Changde Intermediate People's Court announced on September 24 that the court believed that Yang Baiqi's intentional murder had despicable motives, cruel methods, and serious consequences and should be severely punished.

After the incident, Yang Baiqi voluntarily surrendered to the public security organs, and his close relatives compensated for the funeral expenses on his behalf. It was verified that Yang Baiqi had limited (partial) criminal liability capacity when committing harmful acts.

Therefore, the above judgment was made.

　　Deng Xiangrui believes that the defendant Yang Baiqi was not sentenced to immediate execution. Netizens generally felt angry, which is understandable.

But from the judicial perspective, there are more factors to consider, and the judgment result is the category of judicial discretion.

Deng Xiangrui mentioned that the case involved a very serious violent crime. Therefore, in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 50 of the Criminal Law, the defendant has been restricted and reduced his sentence. This is a necessary and correct decision.

　　He Luchuan said that under certain circumstances, the death penalty may still be executed.

Article 50 of the "Criminal Law" stipulates that if the death penalty is sentenced to a suspended period of execution, during the period of the suspended execution of the death sentence, if the crime is deliberately committed and the circumstances are abominable, the execution shall be reported to the Supreme People's Court for approval.

He Luchuan believes that the

court needs to consider all the subjective and objective factors of the defendant's behavior when making a specific sentence.

In addition to the circumstances described above, Yang also had the circumstance of surrendering himself, and he could also be given a lighter or mitigated punishment according to law.

The death penalty was imposed with a suspended death sentence and the reduction of sentence was restricted. The death penalty was still applied, not a reduced punishment.

The Italian criminal law expert Beccaria believes: “It is not the intensity of the punishment that has a greater impact on the human mind, but the continuity of the punishment.” The

　　It is worth noting that Ms. Tian, ​​the wife of the murdered Didi driver, told The Paper on the 24th that since the court session on January 3 this year, the defendant and his family members have not apologized to them, and only compensated for the funeral expenses of 50,000 yuan.

Because the defendant's family did not agree to compensation and other reasons, they withdrew the civil lawsuit, hoping to sentence the defendant again.

　　He Luchuan pointed out that Yang Baiqi and his family did not actively compensate the victims' family members for their losses.

The law only stipulates that those who actively compensate and reach a settlement with the victim and his family can be lenient.

But conversely speaking, it does not mean that if you do not actively compensate, you must deal with them severely, or even impose capital punishment.

This can only be understood positively, and cannot be considered in the reverse direction.

Otherwise, if a rich man commits a crime, he can completely rely on his economic strength to "free himself from death", which will only cause unfair application of the law.

Is it possible to reduce sentence by restricting commutation?

　　Article 50 of my country’s "Criminal Law" stipulates that if a death sentence is sentenced to suspended execution, if there is no intentional crime during the suspended execution period, after the two-year term expires, the sentence is reduced to life imprisonment; , Reduced to 25 years of fixed-term imprisonment; if the crime is intentional and the circumstances are bad, the death penalty shall be reported to the Supreme People’s Court for approval; for the intentional crime not executed, the period of suspended execution shall be recalculated and reported to the Supreme People’s Court for record.

　　Is it possible to reduce sentence by restricting commutation?

Deng Xiangrui believes that the sentence cannot be commuted under normal circumstances.

During Yang Baiqi's suspension of death sentence, if he did not commit a crime intentionally, he would be reduced to life imprisonment after the two-year term expires; if he did significant meritorious service, he was reduced to 25-year imprisonment after the two-year term expires.

After that, in principle, the sentence cannot be commuted.

　　He Luchuan said that if Yang Baiqi passes his performance during his sentence after the sentence comes into effect, there may be a day when he will return to society.

In addition to imposing corresponding penalties on the defendant, perhaps the whole society should pay attention to why it happened and how to prevent such things from happening.

　　Deng Xiangrui believes that to eliminate such tragedies, we must focus on strengthening and optimizing social governance, strengthening love education and awareness of respect for life, eliminating hostility, and promoting social harmony, including improving people’s livelihood, and emphasizing care and guidance for special groups. .

　　The Paper Journalist, Liao Yan, and intern Zhao Ruozhu