China News Service, Beijing, February 2 (Zhang Yuhui and Shao Meng) The "Wu Xieyu mother-killing case" has been settled. Recently, the Supreme People's Court made a ruling in accordance with the law on the defendant Wu Xieyu's death penalty review case for intentional homicide, fraud, and buying and selling identity documents, and approved Wu Xieyu's death sentence. On January 31, the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court followed the execution order issued by the Supreme People's Court and executed Wu Xieyu.

　　From Peking University student to murderer, what kind of thoughts does the Wu Xieyu case, which lasted for nine years and aroused widespread public attention, bring about?

Executed before the Spring Festival

　　According to a report from the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court, the Supreme People's Court held that the intentional homicide committed by Wu Xieyu was cruel, the circumstances were abominable, the crime was extremely serious, it seriously violated human ethics, seriously trampled on the public's cognition and emotions, and caused extremely bad social impact. ; Wu Xieyu continuously committed crimes of intentional homicide, fraud, and buying and selling identity documents. His subjective viciousness was profound and he had no sincerity in repentance. He should be punished in accordance with the law.

　　Zhou Zhaocheng, a lawyer at Beijing Anjian Law Firm, analyzed that my country's death penalty policy has always been "kill less and be careful". Cases that can be sentenced to "death to death" generally have the following situations: First, the objective aspect of the crime, that is, the nature of the crime is bad and the criminal means Cruelty, egregious criminal circumstances, particularly serious consequences, and great social harm; second, the subjective aspect of the crime, that is, deep subjective malignancy, great personal danger, and despicable criminal motives.

　　He pointed out that, whether objectively or subjectively, Wu Xieyu accounted for almost all the factors in the "death-and-death" judgment. "Especially the killing of the mother who was not at fault. The court rarely said that it 'tramples on the normal emotions of human society and the criminal motives are extremely despicable.'" Zhou Zhaocheng emphasized.

　　Regarding the execution of the death penalty before the Spring Festival, Zhou Zhaocheng said that the specific time for the execution of the death penalty should be determined based on judicial procedures and the effective time of the judgment, rather than based on personal preferences or special periods. In addition, on the one hand, this time can avoid unnecessary attention and influence during the Spring Festival and avoid adverse effects on society; on the other hand, it can also allow the family members of criminals to have enough time to arrange funeral arrangements and have final discussions with the criminals. farewell.

Lawyer: He played all the cards to avoid death

　　Previously, Wu Xieyu’s death penalty review attorney Zheng Xiaojing submitted a legal opinion to the Supreme Court on Wu Xieyu’s disapproval of the death penalty. At that time, she said that Wu Xieyu showed a strong desire to survive in the prison cell.

　　According to media reports, Wu Xieyu wrote multiple letters of apology to his grandmother, uncle, aunt and other relatives in the detention center, seeking a "chance to redeem himself alive." A handwritten apology letter from Wu Xieyu provided by Zheng Xiaojing stated, "I decided to give you all the apartment in Mawei and the apartment in Fuzhou that I inherited from my parents. I don't want anything. I am very sorry."

  Wu Xieyu read the letter of apology written in Fuzhou. Photo provided by interviewee

　　Zhou Zhaocheng introduced that according to my country's "Common Sentencing Guidance Opinions", active compensation and obtaining understanding can generally reduce the base sentence by 20% to 40%. If a criminal settlement agreement is reached, the maximum reduction can be 50%.

　　"Wu Xieyu has played almost all the cards to avoid death. It can be seen that he really wants to live. Unfortunately, this step comes too late. After committing a crime, how many opportunities are there to surrender? After four years on the run, How long does it take to repent?" Zhou Zhaocheng said that this is why, from the first instance to the second instance and then to the Supreme Court, the three-level courts emphasized that it was "deeply subjective and vicious and has no sincerity in repentance."

The attorney had requested a forensic psychiatric evaluation

　　On January 31, Zheng Xiaojing introduced that during the first and second trials and death penalty review stages of Wu Xieyu’s case, she and other attorneys insisted on conducting forensic psychiatric evaluation on Wu Xieyu to determine whether he was mentally normal when committing the crime and whether he had criminal indiscretion. Responsibility.

　　However, the Fujian High Court once put forward six reasons in the second-instance judgment, believing that Wu Xieyu had complete identification and control capabilities when committing the crime, and there were no facts and evidence to prove that his mental state at the time of the crime should be subject to forensic psychiatric evaluation. Zheng Xiaojing said that the Supreme Court did not conduct a forensic psychiatric evaluation on Wu Xieyu.

　　Ruan Qilin, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, analyzed that there are two main reasons for approving the death penalty.

　　"The first is the issue of factual evidence, that is, whether the factual evidence that Wu Xieyu committed intentional homicide is sufficient. At present, there is no doubt about this. The second is the issue of sentencing, that is, what is Wu Xieyu's mental state and whether he is criminally responsible Ability." Ruan Qilin said that the Supreme People's Court's decision to approve Wu Xieyu's death sentence should be based on its determination that Wu Xieyu has full capacity for criminal responsibility.

　　Zhou Zhaocheng introduced that when a party involved in a legal issue is suspected of being mentally ill, the judicial authorities will hire psychiatrists and legal practitioners to jointly conduct mental state examination, analysis and judgment.

　　He mentioned that during the trial, Wu Xieyufang sought a mental evaluation on the grounds of severe depression and family history. The title of his second trial defense was "Don't Kill a Mental Patient." "This point was vigorously rejected by the prosecutor - he committed the crime for several months without being discovered, defrauded his relatives and friends out of millions, and was on the run for four years to avoid detection. Can a mentally ill person with such strong anti-detection capabilities be able to achieve this?"

　　The criminal ruling of the Supreme People's Court provided by Zheng Xiaojing shows that "we agree that the original judgment will not adopt the defense lawyer's opinion that Wu Xieyu was mentally ill at the time of committing the crime, did not have full capacity for criminal responsibility, performed well during detention, and requested a lighter punishment." "The Supreme People's Court held that the first-instance judgment and the second-instance ruling determined the facts clearly, the evidence was reliable and sufficient, the conviction was accurate, and the sentence was appropriate. The trial procedure was legal.

What kind of thoughts does the Wu Xieyu case bring?

　　Ruan Qilin pointed out that the death penalty also involves issues such as the plot based on the incident and the research and understanding of the case. He introduced that in ancient China and the criminal laws of some countries and regions, it was stipulated that killing an honored relative was a circumstance or crime that should be punished more severely in the crime of intentional homicide. However, modern criminal law respects the principle of equality, and there is no provision for an additional penalty for killing a relative.

　　He also said that Wu Xieyu's case was different from normal matricide cases. It was not motivated by profit-seeking motives such as fighting for power and getting rid of alimony obligations. The motivation was very rare and abnormal, which always made people suspect that his personality was flawed. In his view, the matricide case was a "tragedy."

　　On November 10, 2023, Zheng Xiaojing met Wu Xieyu in Fuzhou for the last time, and another attorney Wu Guofu met Wu Xieyu on January 5.

　　According to Zheng Xiaojing’s understanding, Wu Xieyu had never met relatives of either parent before his death. Most of Wu’s family members had limited mobility, while Xie’s family “did not issue a letter of understanding and would definitely not go to meet them.” According to the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court, before the execution, the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court informed Wu Xieyu that he could apply to see his relatives, but Wu Xieyu did not apply.

　　Zheng Xiaojing introduced that on January 9, Wu Xieyu sent a 79-page confession written by himself to the Supreme Court death penalty review judge. The first part is a confession and apology, and the second part is a thank you to the police officers for educating and reforming him since entering Fuzhou. He once mentioned that he hopes to write a book about his experiences and bring education and influence to society through his cases and confessions.

　　"I still think this is a family tragedy." Zheng Xiaojing believes that the Wu Xieyu case is also a warning education to the general public and families. (over)