On the Leniency of Criminal Punishment - Academic Works of Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics

Author: Huang Huasheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: This paper focuses on exploring the rationale for the lenitization of criminal punishment from a macro perspective and arguing for the overall concept of China's reform in this regard. The entire paper is structured into seven chapters. Chapter 1 interprets the meaning of the lenitization of criminal punishment, analyzing its five levels of meaning, and then distinguishes it from related concepts to further grasp its meaning. Chapter 2, in chronological order, reviews various ideas on the lenitization of criminal punishment since modern times, divided into four sections to evaluate the thoughts of Enlightenment thinkers and the classical and positivist schools of criminology, as well as the new social defense theory and restorative justice models. Chapter 3 draws on and utilizes the research findings of criminology on crime phenomena and crime causes, as well as the study of the effectiveness of criminal punishment, to reveal and critique the limitations of the retributive criminal policy in crime control effectiveness, thereby arguing for the rationality of the lenitization of criminal punishment. Chapter 4 starts from the value of humanitarianism and the principles of criminal humanitarianism to argue for the ethical justification of the lenitization of criminal punishment. Chapter 5 examines the economic, social structural, and political foundations of the lenitization of criminal punishment from a sociological perspective, thereby revealing the objective necessity of lenitization of criminal punishment under the conditions of a market economy, civil society, and democratic politics. Chapter 6 provides a panoramic overview of the history and current state of the lenitization of criminal punishment worldwide, summarizing the conclusion that the lenitization of criminal punishment is a global trend and inevitable direction in criminal law reform. The final chapter focuses on China, first analyzing the manifestations and causes of China's retributive criminal policy, then arguing for the justification of China's implementation of the lenitization of criminal punishment, particularly clarifying several misconceptions about the direction of China's criminal punishment adjustment, and finally elaborating on the short-term goals and supporting measures for China's reform in the lenitization of criminal punishment.