死刑冤案的程序控制

Injustice of the Death Penalty under Procedural Control

死刑的适用应避免两种情形:一是错误适用,即发生冤错;二是不当适用,即过度适用。二者都构成对生命权的侵犯,其中死刑冤案对法治和人权的损害尤甚。死刑冤案的成因是多方面的,既有司法体制不科学的原因,也有刑事程序不完善的原因。我国2012年进行的刑事诉讼法修改,进一步完善了诉讼程序,有助于死刑冤案的预防。未来应当推进司法体制改革,不断完善刑事程序,这是从制度上防止冤案、控制死刑的关键。

Death penalty should be avoided under two circumstances： one is wrong application, or wrongful conviction, the other is improper application, or excessive application of death penalty. Both of the two constitute a violation of the right to life. What＇s more, wrongful death penalty conviction would do great damage to the rule of law and human rights. There are many causes of wrongful execu- tion, including both judicial institutional reasons and criminal procedural ones. The amendment of The Code of Criminal Procedure in 2012 further improves the legal proceedings, thereby helping to pre- vent injustice of death penalty. In future, it is needed to deepen judicial system reform and constantly improve the criminal procedure, which are the keys to institutionally preventing wrongful conviction and keeping death penalty under control.