Criminal Law Review (2004) (Volume 15)

Author: Chen Xingliang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-22
Features: This volume is the 15th issue of Criminal Law Review, and it is a very rich one. It is particularly encouraging to see some unfamiliar names among the authors. Criminal Law Review has always been committed to promoting new talents and has regarded this as a long-term strategy for advancing the development of criminal law theory in China. The issue of the death penalty is currently not only a focus of academic attention but also a hot topic of public concern. At the annual conference of the Chinese Society of Criminal Law Scholars held in Beijing (September 10–11, 2004), the death penalty was one of the main topics, and the conference papers were compiled into a collection titled Research on the Death Penalty (Volume 1 and 2, totaling 1.34 million words). From the conference papers and discussions, it is evident that scholars have a clear consensus on the death penalty: strictly limit it and ultimately abolish it. However, we must recognize that there is a significant gap between the public's understanding of the death penalty and that of scholars. Recently, scholars' statements on abolishing the death penalty for economic crimes were published in the media, causing public outrage. Below is an excerpt from a post by netizen "Yun Shui Tan Nuan" on the People's Daily Online's Strong Nation Forum, which reflects the public's reaction vividly.