Lenient Death Sentencing and the “Cash for Clemency” Debate

This article examines how financial compensation has been drawn into death sentencing practice and debate in China. The Supreme People’s Court is nowadays encouraging judges to mediate between defendants and the families of homicide victims to secure a financial agreement between the two parties that will allow courts to sentence defendants to a two-year “suspended” death sentence which is commuted to a life sentence after the probation period. The SPC has promoted a series of “standard cases” that exemplify this practice. The controversial practice, dubbed “cash for clemency”, complicates the death penalty debate: critics say that it undermines the law and encourages “bargaining” for a life on the part of those who can afford to do so. Others, however, are sympathetic to any practice that can reduce execution rates. This controversy is part of a larger debate on state killing in the world’s largest killing state.