美国近年死刑的适用与改革

US Death Panalty in Recent Years and Reform

2000年是美国死刑史上的重要转折点之一。自该年度以后,美国每年死刑判决、死刑执行、等待执行死刑人数以及公众对死刑的支持率一直都在下降。围绕死刑适用的公正性与人道性,美国各司法区进行了一系列改革,废除了未成年人和弱智者的死刑适用,暂停了一些州的死刑执行,通过不断完善死刑程序,重视新技术在死刑证据中的运用,降低死刑案件的错判率,加强了对被告人权利的保护。当然,这些改革均引起了一定争议。

The year 2000 was one of the most important years in the history of United States death penalty. Whether examining death sentence, executions, or the size of death row, the death penalty in the U.S. has been in decline since 2000. Most jurisdictions reformed their death penalty system based on the fairness and morality of penalty. The Supreme Court barred the use of the capital punishment against the juvenile offenders and mentally retarded persons, some States declared the moratorium on executions, some States provided additional protections for those defendants facing the death penalty through bettering due process. Of course, such reforms caused some debates.