China considers scrapping death penalty for 9 crimes

This article is more than 12 months old

Oct 27, 2014 04:39 pm

China’s legislature is considering cutting nine crimes from the list of 55 punishable by death, state media said Monday.

The crimes they are considering dropping from the list include illegal fundraising, which has been at the centre of several controversial cases, as well as smuggling weapons, ammunition or nuclear materials and counterfeiting currency.

China cut the number of capital crimes from 68 to 55 in 2011.

According to a report by the Dui Hua Foundation it executed 2,400 people last year, down from 10,000 a decade ago.

China has occasionally exonerated wrongfully executed convicts after others came forward to confess their crimes, or in some cases because the supposed murder victim was later found alive.

- AFP