Debunking the Confusing Standards for Application of LWOPC in China

Abstract

Life imprisonment without parole and commutation is a new punishment brought in Ninth Amendment in the 1997 Criminal Law. The sentencing criteria of the given punishment present a confusing matrix that cause dogmatic understanding of the application of the punishment. The article explores the analogies to debunk the puzzle of practical application of life imprisonment with parole and commutation in Chinese criminal justice system and critical address the deficiencies it contains to streamline it for better application and to meet the ends of justice.