Comparison of the Death Penalty: China vs United States
Capital Punishment in the United States of America And
The People’s Republic of China The United States of America is one of the few countries that still impose death sentences regularly. The People’s Republic of China is also one of these countries. Both are similar in that they are among the top executing countries in the world. Yet they differ in many ways such as, types of crimes that are death penalty eligible, the number of people that are executed, trial processes, and methods of execution. I consider these to be the biggest differences between The People’s Republic of China and the United States of America. One of the most shocking things I came across when researching was the wide range of crimes punishable by death in China. The most shocking of which, is those of non-violent nature. A type of non-violent crime that is routinely charged as a capital crime is economic or “white-collar” crimes. In China’s Criminal Law, there are specific instances where economic crimes can be charged as capital crimes. In the article, "On Limiting and Abolishing the Death Penalty for Economic Crimes in China", the author Bingzhi Zhao wrote, “it is normally specified in China’s Criminal Law that the death penalty is only applicable when the crime is ‘of a particularly enormous amount’ or ‘of a particularly severe nature’”1. A “particularly enormous amount” or “of a particularly sever nature” refers to the amount of money stolen or number of people “hurt” by the crime. What I consider to be a great parallel would be Bernie Madoff, who stole billions from investors and was sentences to 150 years in jail, which is the maximum sentence he could receive2. This leads me to believe if Bernie Madoff lived in China, he would’ve been executed. Although his crimes were particularly extreme in the amount of money he stole, he was not violent in any way shape or form. In America this simply has not happened in the last century. It is my personal belief that crimes
The People’s Republic of China The United States of America is one of the few countries that still impose death sentences regularly. The People’s Republic of China is also one of these countries. Both are similar in that they are among the top executing countries in the world. Yet they differ in many ways such as, types of crimes that are death penalty eligible, the number of people that are executed, trial processes, and methods of execution. I consider these to be the biggest differences between The People’s Republic of China and the United States of America. One of the most shocking things I came across when researching was the wide range of crimes punishable by death in China. The most shocking of which, is those of non-violent nature. A type of non-violent crime that is routinely charged as a capital crime is economic or “white-collar” crimes. In China’s Criminal Law, there are specific instances where economic crimes can be charged as capital crimes. In the article, "On Limiting and Abolishing the Death Penalty for Economic Crimes in China", the author Bingzhi Zhao wrote, “it is normally specified in China’s Criminal Law that the death penalty is only applicable when the crime is ‘of a particularly enormous amount’ or ‘of a particularly severe nature’”1. A “particularly enormous amount” or “of a particularly sever nature” refers to the amount of money stolen or number of people “hurt” by the crime. What I consider to be a great parallel would be Bernie Madoff, who stole billions from investors and was sentences to 150 years in jail, which is the maximum sentence he could receive2. This leads me to believe if Bernie Madoff lived in China, he would’ve been executed. Although his crimes were particularly extreme in the amount of money he stole, he was not violent in any way shape or form. In America this simply has not happened in the last century. It is my personal belief that crimes
Cited: 1) Zhao, Bingzhi, and Yunfeng Wan. "On Limiting and Abolishing the Death Penalty for Economic Crimes in China." Chinese Sociology & Anthropology 41.4 (2009): 14-40. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. 2) Henriques, Diana B. "Madoff Is Sentenced to 150 Years for Ponzi Scheme." New York Times. N.p., 29 June 2009. Web. 6 Apr. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/business/30madoff.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1302130804-D6A9blCzarc5GZUpWsrNMg>. 3) Fan, Maureen, and Ariana E. Cha. "China 's Capital Cases Still Secret, Arbitrary." Washington Post. N.p., 24 Dec. 2008. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/23/AR2008122302795.html>. 4) "Death Sentences and Executions in 2008." Amnesty International. N.p., 2009. Web. 1 Apr. 2011. <http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/annual_report/DeathSentencesExecutions2008.pdf>. 5) Fan, Yuefeng. "Abolishing the Death Penalty in China." OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. Ed. Marian Williams and Steven Lab. N.p., Aug. 2006. Web. 1 Apr. 2011. <http://etd.ohiolink.edu/send-pdf.cgi/Fan%20Yuefeng.pdf?bgsu1151094147>. 6) Bonsor, Kevin. "Methods of execution have changed with the times." USA Today. N.p., 10 May 2001. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. <http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/stuffworks/2001-05-10-lethal-injection.htm>. 7) Bohm, Robert M. Death Quest III. 3rd ed. Newark: Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., 2007. Print.