Death Penalty with a Suspension of Execution
If a criminal which has received a sentenced of death with a two-year suspension commits no intentional offenses during the period of suspension, the punishment should therefore be commuted at the expiration of the suspension period. The authority responsible for carrying out the execution shall submit a written recommendation to a Higher People’s Court for an order. If there is verified evidence that the criminal has committed intentional offense, the Higher People’s Court shall submit the matter to the Supreme People’s Court for examination and approval to carry out the sentence.
Immediate Execution
When a judgment of the death penalty with immediate execution is pronounced or approved by the Supreme People’s Court, the President of the Supreme People’s Court shall sign and issue an order to execute the death sentence.
After receiving an order from the Supreme People’s Court to execute a death sentence, the People’s Court at a lower level shall carryout the execution within seven days. A death sentence shall be executed by such means as shooting or injection. Without specifically provided by laws, death penalty shall not executed by other means.
Conditions to Halt Execution
If any of the following three conditions are met, the People’s Court responsible for carrying out the execution shall suspend the execution and immediately submit a report to the Supreme People’s Court for an order:
- If it is discovered before the execution of the sentence that the judgment may contain an error;
- If, before the execution of the sentence, the defendant exposes major criminal facts or renders other significantly meritorious service, thus the sentence may need to be revised; or
- If the criminal is pregnant.
After a death sentence is executed, the People’s Court that caused the death sentence to be executed shall notify the family members of the defendant.