People’s Daily combs the cases of commutation by political and business people： reporting, inventing, publishing books and running newspapers can be used as a basis.

人民网北京6月17日电，近日陆续公开的重庆不雅视频案落马厅官雷政富减刑，前首富、国美创始人黄光裕减刑消息，让“减刑”再度受到舆论关注。数据显示，目前全国减刑、假释案件一年有60多万件。据新华社《瞭望东方周刊》2011年报道，中国在押犯每年至少有20%至30%获得减刑。其中政商界减刑案亦不在少数，如原铁道部部长刘志军、武警少将吕文彦、薄谷开来由死缓减为无期；广东省委统战部原副部长黄少雄、辽阳市公安局原副局长富龙由无期减为有期；原足协副主席南勇、杨一民刑期变短等，均轰动一时。

我国法律规定，减刑只能适用于特定对象。依照刑法第78条之规定，被判处管制、拘役、有期徒刑、无期徒刑的犯罪分子，在执行期间，如果认真遵守监规，接受教育改造，确有悔改表现的，或者有立功表现的，可以减刑。《最高人民法院关于办理减刑、假释案件具体应用法律若干问题的规定》对“确有悔改表现”、应当认定为有“立功表现”的具体情形，以及相应的减刑幅度等都作出明确规定。此外，法院对于“三类罪犯”(职务犯、金融犯、涉黑犯)的减刑假释，在起始期、间隔期、减刑幅度和审理程序方面相比于普通罪犯都有更严格的要求。

According to another introduction, it is most important for prisoners to obtain commutation in prison. The actual performance is divided into five aspects: basic norms, labor norms, learning norms, living hygiene norms, civilized manners norms, etc. Each aspect has a clear quantitative assessment standard, which is assessed by the prison area every day, studied every week, and evaluated every ten days. According to the total score of the five aspects, it is converted into reward points every month according to the principle of high to low, and the reward points are accumulated month by month. After reaching a certain score, the administrative reward is evaluated, and the prisoner can declare the commutation according to the number of administrative rewards he has obtained. A prisoner who has received a major meritorious service award shall have his sentence reduced.

The reporter combed the cases of commutation of political and business sentences in recent years and found that good performance, active reform, praise, invention patents, publication of articles, participation in cultural and sports activities, exposure of others, and no intentional crime during the suspended execution of death penalty can all be used as the basis for commutation.

Lei Zhengfu.

Reason for commutation: active repentance for labor reform

In November, 2012, Lei Zhengfu, the official of the Falling Horse Hall in Chongqing indecent video case, was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment for accepting bribes. China Judgment Document Network recently announced that Lei Zhengfu, the former secretary of Beibei District Party Committee, was awarded three administrative awards for his repentance during his prison term, and he was able to seriously abide by laws, regulations and prison rules, accept education and reform, and complete production tasks well. He was sentenced to reduce his fixed-term imprisonment by 10 months according to law.

Similar to Lei Zhengfu’s case, recently, the website of Fujian Higher People’s Court released a message that Lv Wenyan, a major general of the Armed Police, was sentenced to death with a suspended sentence of 20 million yuan, which has been reduced to life. The reason given by the court for Lv Wenyan’s commutation is: it was found through trial that during the suspended execution of the death penalty, Lv Wenyan, a criminal, could plead guilty and repent, abide by laws and regulations, abide by the Code of Conduct for Prisoners, participate in all kinds of education, get qualified grades, actively participate in labor and strive to complete labor tasks.

Liang Yongxiang, former vice president and executive director of Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for accepting bribes in March 2012, and his property was confiscated by 100,000 yuan. While serving his sentence in prison, Liang Yongxiang won 25 awards for his efforts to complete the production task. In September 2013, he was named as a reform activist. For this reason, the prison proposed to reduce his sentence and obtained the approval of the court, reducing his imprisonment by 11 months.

Reason for commutation: to be rewarded for voluntarily paying the penalty.

Huang Guangyu, the founder of Gome, who was imprisoned in November 2008, was convicted of illegal business operation, insider trading and unit bribery. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, fined 600 million yuan and confiscated 200 million yuan of property. The Beijing No.2 Intermediate People’s Court issued a criminal ruling at the end of last month. During his sentence, Huang Guangyu, a criminal, was rewarded by prison reform activists for the second time, and his sentence was reduced by 11 months. In addition, Huang Guangyu has voluntarily paid fines and confiscated some personal property totaling RMB 800 million, and turned over illegal income of RMB 23,669,400.

In 2014, Hebei Women’s Prison explained the media report that "Tian Wenhua, the former chairman of Sanlu, commuted his sentence". Since April 2, 2009, the criminal Tian Wenhua has served his sentence in Hebei Women’s Prison. During his prison term, the criminal was able to plead guilty and obey the law, abide by the prison rules and discipline, actively participate in study, education and labor reform, and was awarded three times for merit assessment. He was named as an activist of prison level reform in 2010, and he did show repentance. In November 2011, the Higher People’s Court of Hebei Province ruled that his sentence was reduced from life imprisonment to fixed-term imprisonment of 19 years and deprivation of political rights to 6 years. After commutation, Tian was rewarded with many times for his good performance in reform, and there was no violation of discipline. In May 2014, the Intermediate People’s Court of Shijiazhuang City ruled that he was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison.

Wang Jianzhong, a "stock market Darkmouth", was sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment and fined more than 125 million yuan for the crime of manipulating the securities market in August 2011. In December, 2014, the Beijing Public Security Bureau suggested that Wang Jianzhong be given an 11-month sentence reduction on the grounds that he had won two awards from activists in detention center reform. The Beijing No.2 Intermediate People’s Court found through trial that Wang Jianzhong was "able to plead guilty and repent and receive education and reform during his prison term. From July 2012 to July 2014, he won two awards from activists of detention center reform, and finally decided to reduce Wang Jianzhong’s sentence by 10 months.

黄光裕。

减刑理由之：获得表扬

2012年8月19日，薄谷开来因犯故意杀人罪被判处死刑，缓期二年执行，剥夺政治权利终身。2015年法院裁定将罪犯薄谷开来死刑缓期二年执行的刑罚减为无期徒刑。其服刑的司法部燕城监狱的提请减刑建议书称，该犯在服刑期间能够遵守监规纪律，按照《监狱服刑人员行为规范》要求自己；参加思想、文化、技术学习，成绩合格；在劳动中，服从分配，按时完成劳动任务。在死刑缓期执行考验刑期执行期间，没有故意犯罪。在司法部燕城监狱于2013年5月、2013年11月、2014年5月共获表扬3次。

足坛反赌案要犯——中国足协原副主席杨一民在服刑期间，于2012年11月至2013年10月共获得表扬4次，还在狱中写了认罪悔罪书。鉴于此，燕城监狱向北京市二中院提出减刑建议，北京市二中院审理认定，杨一民“能认罪悔罪，认真遵守监规纪律，服从管理，积极参加学习，表现较好，确有悔改表现，依法予以减刑”。

On April 26th, 2011, Lu Jinchang, the former deputy commander of the development and construction headquarters in the northern part of Kunming, was sentenced to life imprisonment at first instance for accepting bribes and misappropriating public funds. In June 2013, the prison said that Lu Jinchang had won three praises and two special praises, and was rated as a sick prisoner due to illness. His life imprisonment was changed to 19 years and 9 months’ imprisonment.

Reason for commutation: invention patent

Nan Yong, the former vice chairman of the Football Association and director of the Football Management Center of the State Sports General Administration, was arrested by the Liaoning procuratorate in March 2010 and sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison in 2012, and fined RMB200,000. On December 9, 2014, the Beijing No.2 Intermediate People’s Court pronounced a sentence in court, and ruled that Nan Yong was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. One of the reasons for the commutation was that Nan Yong invented four patents during his prison term and was praised by the prison. According to the patent inquiry system of China National Intellectual Property Administration China, Nan Yong’s four patents are: a soccer shooting practice device, a portable goal, a mobile terminal support frame and a desktop computer display assembly.

Liang Jianxing, the former secretary of the Party Committee and director of the Health Bureau of Fenghua City, Zhejiang Province, was sentenced to prison for accepting bribes in 2008. As of November 2014, a total of 11 inventions have obtained national patent certification in about six years. Its patents include an eye massager, a disposable nose sleeve for preventing PM2.5, and a pill counter. In 2011, Liang Jianxing received a one-year and three-month sentence reduction for his good performance in prison.

Lou Weigang, the former deputy director of the Transportation Bureau of a city in Sichuan Province, has been in prison since 2006. During his prison term, he cooperated with his inmates to invent two items, namely, the wall-mounted cigarette lighter and the embedded depth indicator of underwater pouring concrete conduit, and successfully applied for patents.

Chen Jianping, former director of the Geothermal Department of Beijing Land and Resources, took 458,000 bribes in seven years and was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Second Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing for accepting bribes. During his prison term, Chen Jianping obtained patent certification for his inventions in the energy field.

Reason for commutation: publishing articles, books and newspapers

On July 8, 2013, Liu Zhijun, former Minister of Railways, was sentenced to death with a two-year suspension for accepting bribes and abusing his power. In December, 2015, the Beijing Higher People’s Court publicized the case of Liu Zhijun’s commutation. Since the delivery, Liu Zhijun, a criminal, has not intentionally committed a crime, but has been able to voluntarily plead guilty and obey the law, consciously accept education and reform, correctly understand the social harm of the crime, deeply analyze the root causes of the crime, and actively play his own social value. The warning value article "My Reflection and Analysis on the Crime Committed" was awarded the second prize by the prison. Be able to actively participate in political studies and collective activities, complete ideological reports on time, and constantly improve ideological understanding; Be able to participate in labor reform as much as possible, conscientiously complete labor tasks, and do a good job in indoor and outdoor sanitation and cleaning according to regulations. In 2014, Liu Zhijun, a criminal, was awarded by an activist of prison labor reform for his good performance in prison reform. Later, the court ruled that Liu Zhijun’s death penalty with a two-year suspension was reduced to life imprisonment.

Zhang Erjiang, the former deputy secretary of Danjiangkou Municipal Committee and mayor of Hubei Province, who was called "secretary of the five poisons" for "boasting, selling, whoring, gambling and greed", was sentenced to 18 years in July 2002 for accepting bribes and corruption. During his prison term, he used his own cultural knowledge to write four literary criticism books, namely, A New Interpretation of Poems of < Wind >, An Annotation of Sun Tzu’s Art of War in Vernacular Warfare, An Annotation of Shangshu in Vernacular Warfare, and A New Interpretation of Poems of < Ya Song >, which have been published by Hunan People’s Publishing House and Shaanxi People’s Publishing House respectively. Among them, his book Vernacular Military Classics-Sun Tzu’s Art of War, written under the pen name Yuanjiang, was appraised as "a valuable contribution to the accurate understanding of Sun Tzu’s Art of War" by Sun Tzu’s Art of War Research Society of the Academy of Military Sciences. The prison reduced his sentence by one year in 2005; In 2006, Zhang Erjiang won another major meritorious award; In June 2007, the sentence was reduced for another two years and six months.

Nan Yong, the former vice chairman of the Football Association, not only declared many inventions in prison, but also worked hard when he took part in labor, and was elected as the leader of the greening team of Yancheng Prison. I also wrote several books in my spare time. One of them, The Lonely Sacrificer, was published last year. Nan Yong’s Lonely Sacrifice won a total of 180 points in two months, that is, a reward praised by the prison, which is equivalent to two months’ commutation. This award enabled Nan Yong to get a two-month commutation, which also made his final commutation time reach one year.

In 1996, Hu Jianxue, former party secretary of Tai ‘an City, Shandong Province, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes. During his prison term, his sentence was reduced five times for his active performance in running a newspaper in prison, and his sentence was reduced from death to 15 years and 6 months in prison.

Reason for commutation: report and expose other people’s crimes

In April this year, Chen Xiaobo, former deputy secretary of the Party Committee of shenzhen polytechnic and member of the Fifth CPPCC, was tried for accepting bribes. The Yantian District Court held that, in view of the fact that after Chen Xiaobo was brought to justice, he exposed the criminal acts of others and verified them, which constituted meritorious service and mitigated the punishment according to law; Moreover, after he was brought to justice, he truthfully confessed the facts of the crime, and his guilty attitude was good, so he could be given a lighter punishment according to law. In addition, after the incident, Chen Xiaobo returned most of the stolen money, which can be mitigated as appropriate. The Yantian District Court comprehensively considered Chen Xiaobo’s criminal circumstances and penitence, and sentenced Chen Xiaobo to five years’ imprisonment, fined 1 million RMB, confiscated 710,000 illegal money seized in the case and turned it over to the state treasury, and continued to recover 297,000 illegal money involved in the case and turned it over to the state treasury.

Ma De, the biggest corrupt official who sold officials since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, was tried for accepting bribes of more than 6 million yuan from 17 people. The court found that Ma De’s report exposed clues that others were suspected of accepting bribes, which was verified to be true and meritorious. Ma De was sentenced to death in the first instance. In November 2007, Ma De was commuted to life imprisonment; In January 2010, it was reduced to 18 years in prison; In June 2015, the sentence was reduced by another year. Yancheng Prison of the Ministry of Justice, where he served his sentence, believes that Ma De pleaded guilty and repented during his sentence, observed prison regulations, and actively participated in ideological, cultural and technical study and labor. During the assessment period, he was awarded two annual prison awards and one annual prison award, which really showed repentance.

In June 2014, Dai Heng, director of the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Bureau of Changfeng County, Hefei City, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison by Changfeng Court for accepting bribes and abusing his power. After being brought to justice, Dai Hengcheng truthfully explained most of the facts of bribery crimes that the case-handling organs did not grasp, and withdrew the money of 80,000 yuan; It exposed the criminal act of accepting bribes by his subordinate Zheng, which was verified to be true. Dai Hengcheng’s relatives withdrew more than 110,000 yuan of money on their behalf. In the end, the court sentenced the defendant Dai Hengcheng to accept bribes and sentenced him to five years in prison. He was convicted of abuse of power and sentenced to one year in prison, and decided to execute a fixed-term imprisonment of five years and six months.

Chen Mou Qiang, the former clerk of Foshan Archives Center, was arrested for corruption and bribery. During an interview with the Foshan Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection in November 2013, Chen Mou Qiang not only voluntarily confessed the fact that he received benefits through the project, but also actively exposed the criminal behavior of Zhang Yongzhao, then director of Foshan Archives Bureau. In view of Chen Mou’s surrender and meritorious service, he also actively returned 164,000 yuan of stolen goods. During the first trial, the public prosecution suggested that Chen Mou Qiang be sentenced to two to three years’ imprisonment for corruption and five to seven years’ imprisonment for accepting bribes.

Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Laws in Handling Cases of Commutation and Parole.

On November 21, 2011, the 1532nd meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court adopted the Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Laws in Handling Cases of Commutation and Parole (hereinafter referred to as the Provisions), which came into effect on July 1.

I. Revision background of the Regulations

Commutation and parole work is an important part of the work of the people’s court. In 1997, the Supreme People’s Court promulgated and implemented the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Laws in Handling Cases of Commutation and Parole (Fa Fa [1997] No.25), which played an active and effective role in guiding the work of commutation and parole. However, with the rapid development of economy and society and the continuous progress of the rule of law, new situations and problems have emerged in judicial practice, and some problems have also been exposed in commutation and parole work, such as the lack of transparency in case trial procedures, the imperfect supervision mechanism, the stipulation that "more serious crimes are reduced and less minor crimes are reduced" does not conform to the criminal policy of combining leniency with severity, and the application rate of parole is generally low. The people have put forward higher requirements and expectations for commutation and parole work. The reform of commutation and parole system is also one of the important tasks determined by the reform of the central judicial system and working mechanism and the third five-year reform of the people’s courts. Its main purpose is to "establish an open system of commutation and parole trial procedures and strictly apply the conditions for commutation and parole of major criminals".

Second, the revision process of the Regulations

In 2009, the Supreme People’s Court officially started the revision of the judicial interpretation of commutation and parole, conducted a full investigation and solicited opinions from all parties concerned. He went to Hainan, Guangdong, Hubei, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong and other places to conduct special investigations, and held special seminars in Hebei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Henan and other places, soliciting and listening to the opinions of the NPC Law Committee, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, some high and intermediate people’s courts, first-line prisons, detention centers, police officers, experts and scholars, and ordinary people. After repeated research and argumentation, they were constantly revised and improved, and finally came out.

III. Main contents of the Regulations

Article 1 According to the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 78 of the Criminal Law, a criminal sentenced to public surveillance, criminal detention, fixed-term imprisonment or life imprisonment, during the execution period, may have his sentence reduced if he earnestly abides by the prison regulations, receives education and reform, shows genuine repentance, or performs meritorious service; Those who have made significant meritorious service shall have their sentences reduced.

Article 2 "True repentance" means having the following four conditions at the same time: pleading guilty and repenting; Seriously abide by laws, regulations and supervision rules, and accept education and reform; Actively participate in ideological, cultural, vocational and technical education; Actively participate in labor and strive to complete labor tasks.

If a criminal complains during the execution of the penalty, his right to complain should be protected according to law, and the complaint against a criminal should not be considered as not pleading guilty and repenting without analysis.

Criminals who actively execute property punishment and perform incidental civil compensation obligations can be regarded as guilty and penitent, and can be lenient in commutation and parole; Those who have the ability to perform and fail to perform shall be strictly controlled in commutation and parole.

Article 3 A person who has one of the following circumstances shall be deemed to have made meritorious service:

(1) preventing others from committing criminal activities;

(two) to report and expose criminal activities inside and outside the prison, or to provide important clues to solve the case, which is verified by investigation;

(3) assisting judicial organs in arresting other criminal suspects (including accomplices);

(4) Having made outstanding achievements in technological innovation in production and scientific research;

(five) outstanding performance in emergency rescue and disaster relief or exclusion of major accidents;

(6) Having made other contributions to the country and society.

Article 4 A person who has one of the following circumstances shall be deemed to have made "significant meritorious service":

(a) to prevent others from committing major criminal activities;

(2) reporting major criminal activities inside and outside the prison, which is verified by investigation;

(3) assisting judicial organs in arresting other major criminal suspects (including accomplices);

(four) there are inventions or major technological innovations;

(5) Giving oneself up to save others in daily production and life;

(6) having made outstanding performance in resisting natural disasters or eliminating major accidents;

(seven) other significant contributions to the country and society.

Article 5 If a prisoner with fixed-term imprisonment meets the conditions for commutation during the execution of punishment, the range of commutation shall be as follows: if he does show repentance or perform meritorious service, the commutation at one time shall generally not exceed one year of fixed-term imprisonment; Those who do show repentance and perform meritorious service, or have made significant meritorious service, shall generally be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years at a time.

Article 6 The starting time and interval of commutation for prisoners with fixed-term imprisonment are as follows: A prisoner sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than five years can generally commute his sentence after serving it for more than one year and six months, and the interval between two commutes should generally be more than one year. Criminals sentenced to less than five years of fixed-term imprisonment may appropriately shorten the starting and interval time by referring to the above provisions.

Those who have made significant meritorious service can be exempted from the above-mentioned restrictions on the start and interval of commutation.

The starting time of commutation of fixed-term imprisonment is calculated from the date of execution of the judgment. Article 7. If a life-imprisonment prisoner does show repentance or render meritorious service during the execution of the penalty, his sentence may be commuted after serving two years. The range of commutation is: those who do repent or perform meritorious service can generally be reduced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 20 years but not more than 22 years; Those who have made significant meritorious service may be reduced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 15 years but not more than 20 years.

Article 8 After a life-imprisonment prisoner has had his sentence commuted once or several times, his actual sentence shall not be less than thirteen years, and the starting time shall be counted from the date when the life-imprisonment sentence is determined.

Article 9 If a criminal whose death sentence is suspended is commuted to life imprisonment, and he really shows repentance or meritorious service, he may be commuted to 25 years’ imprisonment after serving two years’ imprisonment; Those who have made significant meritorious service may be commuted to 23 years’ imprisonment after serving two years’ imprisonment.

After one or several commutation, the actual sentence of a criminal with a suspended death sentence shall not be less than 15 years, not including the suspended death sentence.

If a criminal with a suspended death sentence resists reform during the suspended execution period, which does not constitute a crime, his sentence may be reduced severely thereafter.

Article 10 If a prisoner with a suspended death sentence whose commutation is restricted is commuted to life imprisonment according to law after the expiration of the suspended death sentence, or is commuted to 25 years’ imprisonment due to significant meritorious service, the starting time, interval and range of commutation shall be strictly controlled by comparing with those with a suspended death sentence whose commutation is not restricted.

Article 11 A criminal sentenced to public surveillance or criminal detention, and a criminal whose remaining sentence is less than one year’s fixed-term imprisonment after the judgment takes effect, may have his sentence reduced as appropriate, and the actually executed sentence shall not be less than half of the original sentence.

Article 12 When a prisoner with fixed-term imprisonment commutes his sentence, the additional period of deprivation of political rights may be reduced at his discretion. The period of deprivation of political rights after discretion shall not be less than one year.

Article 13 A criminal sentenced to criminal detention or fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years with a suspended sentence is generally not applicable to commutation.

If a criminal specified in the preceding paragraph has made significant meritorious service during the probation period, his sentence may be reduced with reference to the provisions of Article 78 of the Criminal Law, and his probation period shall be shortened according to law. The probation period for criminal detention shall not be less than two months, and the probation period for fixed-term imprisonment shall not be less than one year.

Article 14 If a criminal sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment commits another crime during the execution of the penalty and is sentenced to a penalty of not more than fixed-term imprisonment, his sentence will generally not be reduced within two years from the date when the new crime judgment is determined; If a new crime is sentenced to life imprisonment, the sentence will generally not be reduced within three years from the date when the new crime judgment is determined.

Article 15 In handling a parole case, the judgment that there is no danger of committing another crime should be based on the specific circumstances of the crime, the original sentence, the consistent performance in the execution of the penalty, the age, physical condition, personality characteristics of the prisoner, the source of life after parole and the supervision conditions, in addition to the circumstances stipulated in Article 81 of the Criminal Law.

Article 16 The starting time for a prisoner with fixed-term imprisonment to be released on parole and execute more than half of the original sentence shall be counted from the date of execution of the judgment. If he is detained before execution of the judgment, one day of detention will be counted as one day of the sentence.

Article 17 "Special circumstances" as stipulated in the first paragraph of Article 81 of the Criminal Law refers to situations that have an important relationship with the interests of the state and society.

Article 18 No parole shall be granted to recidivists and criminals sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment for intentional homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, arson, explosion, throwing dangerous substances or organized violent crimes.

A criminal sentenced to death with a suspended execution for the circumstances and crimes mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall not be released on parole after being commuted to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment.

Article 19. The commutation and parole of juvenile criminals may be appropriately lenient according to law, mutatis mutandis, to adult criminals.

Juvenile criminals who can plead guilty and repent, abide by laws, regulations and prison rules, and actively participate in study and labor should be regarded as having genuine repentance, and the range of commutation can be appropriately relaxed, and the starting time and interval can be shortened accordingly. Those who meet the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 81 of the Criminal Law may be released on parole.

The juvenile criminals mentioned in the preceding two paragraphs refer to criminals under the age of 18 at the time of commutation.

Twentieth elderly, physically disabled (excluding self-injury disability), suffering from serious diseases, commutation and parole, should focus on the actual performance of repentance.

Old-age, physically disabled and seriously ill criminals who have basically lost their ability to work and are unable to take care of themselves can seriously abide by laws, regulations and prison rules and receive education and reform, which should be regarded as true repentance. The range of commutation can be appropriately relaxed, and the starting time and interval can be shortened accordingly. If the life after parole is really settled, he may be released on parole according to law, except in cases where parole is not allowed according to the law and this interpretation.

Commutation and parole of criminals with physical disabilities and criminals suffering from serious diseases shall be determined by legal appraisal institutions according to law.

Article 21 A criminal whose death sentence is suspended may be released on parole if his sentence is commuted to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment, which conforms to the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 81 of the Criminal Law and the second paragraph of Article 9 and Article 18 of these Provisions.

Article 22 The interval between a prisoner’s commutation and parole is generally one year; For those who decide to be released on parole after deducting two years’ imprisonment at one time, the interval shall not be less than two years.

If the remaining sentence of a criminal after commutation is less than two years and he decides to be released on parole, the interval may be appropriately shortened.

Article 23 If the people’s court retries a case in accordance with the procedure of trial supervision and upholds the original judgment or ruling, the effect of the original ruling on commutation and parole remains unchanged; If the original judgment or ruling is changed, the penalty execution organ shall, according to the retrial judgment and the original commutation and parole, request the people’s court with jurisdiction to make a new ruling on commutation and parole.

Article 24 When accepting a case of commutation or parole, the people’s court shall examine whether the executing organ has transferred the following materials:

(1) A proposal for commutation or parole;

(2) Copies of the judgment documents, enforcement notices and previous commutation rulings of the Court of Final Appeal;

(3) Written evidence of the specific facts that the prisoner has repented or rendered meritorious service;

(four) criminal appraisal form, reward and punishment approval form;

(five) other materials that need to be transferred according to the trial of the case.

Where parole is requested, an investigation and evaluation report of the community correction institution on the impact of parole on the community where the prisoner lives shall be attached.

The procuratorial opinions put forward by the people’s procuratorate on the case of commutation or parole shall be transferred to the people’s court that accepts the case of commutation or parole.

Upon examination, if the materials specified in the preceding three paragraphs are complete, a case shall be filed; If the materials are not complete, it shall notify the executing organ that submitted the commutation or parole to make up for it.

Twenty-fifth people’s courts shall publicize all cases of commutation and parole. The publicity place is a public area where criminals serve their sentences. Where conditions permit, it should be publicized to the public and accept social supervision. Publicity shall include the following contents:

(1) the name of the criminal;

(2) The charges and terms of imprisonment as determined in the original judgment;

(3) Previous commutation of sentences by criminals;

(4) Suggestions and basis for commutation and parole of the executing organ;

(5) Time limit for publicity;

(6) feedback methods, etc.

Article 26 A people’s court may try a case of commutation or parole in writing. However, the following cases shall be heard in court:

(a) because the criminal has made significant meritorious service, the sentence is reduced;

(2) The starting time, interval or commutation range of the application for commutation do not conform to the general provisions;

(three) have a significant impact in society or high social concern;

(four) received complaints during the publicity period;

(five) the people’s Procuratorate has objections;

(6) The people’s court deems it necessary to hold a hearing.

Twenty-seventh before the people’s court makes a ruling on commutation or parole, the people’s court shall decide whether or not to allow the execution organ to withdraw the proposal of commutation or parole in writing.

Article 28 A ruling on commutation or parole shall be delivered to the relevant executing organ, the people’s procuratorate and the criminal himself within seven days from the date of making the ruling.

Article 29 If a people’s court finds that there is indeed an error in the ruling of commutation or parole that has come into effect by itself or the people’s court at a lower level, it shall re-form a collegial panel to try and make a ruling according to law.

Fourth, the significance of implementing the Regulations

The "Regulations" strictly implement the criminal policy of tempering justice with mercy and actively promote the openness of trial procedures for commutation and parole cases, which is of great guiding significance for correctly applying the law to handle commutation and parole cases and maintaining the fairness and justice of penalty execution.

Provisions of the People’s Procuratorate on Handling Cases of Commutation and Parole (full text)

(adopted at the 25th meeting of the 12th Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on July 21, 2014)

Article 1 In order to further strengthen and standardize the legal supervision of commutation and parole, and ensure that the execution of penalty changes is legal and fair, these Provisions are formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Criminal Procedure Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Prison Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC), combined with the actual procuratorial work.

Article 2 The People’s Procuratorate shall exercise legal supervision over the legality of the submission, trial and ruling of commutation and parole cases.

Article 3 When handling cases of commutation and parole, the People’s Procuratorate shall handle them separately according to the following circumstances:

(1) The people’s procuratorate, which is responsible for procuratorial duties to the executing organ, shall supervise the activities of submitting commutation and parole cases;

(2) The people’s procuratorate at the same level of the people’s court shall be responsible for the supervision of the trial and adjudication of commutation and parole cases; If the people’s procuratorate at the same level does not undertake procuratorial duties to the executing organ, it may, if necessary, designate the people’s procuratorate that undertakes procuratorial duties to the executing organ to send personnel to attend the court; If the people’s procuratorate at a lower level finds that the ruling on commutation or parole is improper, it shall promptly report to the people’s procuratorate at the same level of the people’s court that made the ruling on commutation or parole.

Article 4 The people’s procuratorates shall, in handling cases of commutation and parole, implement unified case management and responsibility system for handling cases in accordance with regulations.

Article 5 The people’s procuratorate shall, after receiving the following materials of commutation and parole cases transferred by the executing organ, conduct a timely review:

(a) the executive organ intends to submit opinions on commutation and parole;

(2) Judgment documents of the Court of Final Appeal, enforcement notices and previous rulings on commutation;

(3) Proof that the prisoner has indeed shown repentance, rendered meritorious service or made significant meritorious service;

(four) criminal appraisal form, reward and punishment approval form;

(5) Other case materials that should be examined.

For cases to be submitted for parole, the investigation and evaluation report of community correction institutions or grass-roots organizations on the impact of parole on the community where criminals live should also be reviewed.

Article 6 Under any of the following circumstances, the people’s procuratorate shall conduct investigation and verification:

(1) The criminal who intends to apply for commutation or parole is a duty criminal, a criminal who undermines the order of financial management and financial fraud, a criminal who is organized by the underworld, a criminal who commits serious violent terrorist crimes, or other criminals who have great influence in society and are highly concerned by the society;

(2) It is proposed to reduce the sentence because of the criminal’s meritorious service or significant meritorious service;

(3) A criminal who intends to apply for commutation or parole has a large commutation range, a long probation period for parole, an early start time, a short interval or a short actually executed sentence;

(four) the criminals who intend to be submitted for commutation or parole have high assessment scores, many special awards or doubtful appraisal materials and reward and punishment records;

(5) Having received a complaint or report;

(six) other should be investigated and verified.

Article 7 The People’s Procuratorate may investigate and verify the following situations by reading and copying relevant materials, reorganizing diagnosis and identification, conducting documentary identification, holding symposiums and individual inquiries:

(1) The performance of the criminal who intends to request commutation or parole during his sentence;

(2) The execution of property penalty, the performance of incidental civil judgment, the return of stolen goods and compensation, etc., which are proposed for commutation or parole of criminals;

(3) Whether the meritorious service and major meritorious service of the criminal who intends to reduce his sentence are true, and whether the invention, creation and technological innovation were independently completed by the criminal during his sentence and confirmed by the relevant competent authorities;

(4) Factors that affect recidivism, such as the physical condition, personality characteristics, source of life after parole and supervision conditions of the criminal who intends to be paroled;

(five) other circumstances that should be investigated and verified.

Article 8 The people’s procuratorate may send personnel to attend the review meeting of commutation and parole submitted by the executing organ as nonvoting delegates to understand the relevant situation of the case and express opinions as needed.

Article 9 If a people’s procuratorate finds that a criminal meets the conditions for commutation or parole, but the executing organ fails to request commutation or parole, it may suggest that the executing organ request commutation or parole.

Article 10 After receiving a copy of the proposal for commutation and parole copied by the executing organ, the people’s procuratorate shall examine the case by case and may submit written opinions to the people’s court. If it is found that the proposal for commutation or parole is improper or that the proposal for commutation or parole violates legal procedures, it shall, within ten days after receiving the copy of the proposal, submit written opinions to the people’s court hearing the case of commutation or parole according to law, and at the same time, send a copy of the procuratorial opinion to the executing organ. If the case is complicated or special, it may be extended for ten days.

Article 11 When the people’s court holds a court session to hear cases of commutation or parole, the people’s procuratorate shall assign procurators to attend the court, express procuratorial opinions and supervise the legality of the court proceedings.

Article 12 There shall be no less than two prosecutors present at the court, at least one of whom has the post of prosecutor.

Thirteenth prosecutors should make the following preparations before the trial:

(a) fully familiar with the case, grasp the evidence, and draw up the outline of the court investigation and the opinions of appearing in court;

(2) Relevant evidence shall be collected in cases where the executing organ has objections to commutation or parole, and it may be suggested that the people’s court notify relevant witnesses to testify in court.

Article 14 After the trial begins, after the representative of the executing organ reads out the proposal for commutation and parole and explains the reasons, the procurator shall express his procuratorial opinions.

Article 15 During the trial, if the procurator has doubts about the commutation or parole requested by the executing agency, he may, with the permission of the presiding judge, present evidence, apply for witnesses to testify in court, ask the representatives of the executing agency to present evidence or make explanations, ask questions and express opinions to the criminals and witnesses who have been requested to commute or parole.

Article 16 At the end of the court investigation, and before the prisoner who has been asked for commutation or parole makes a final statement, the procurator may, with the permission of the presiding judge, make concluding comments.

Article 17 During the trial, if the procurator thinks that it is necessary to further investigate and verify the facts and evidence of the case, need supplementary appraisal or re-appraisal, or need to notify new witnesses to appear in court, he shall propose an adjournment.

Eighteenth prosecutors found that the court trial activities in violation of the law, should be promptly reported to the chief procurator of the court after the trial, put forward rectification opinions to the people’s court according to law.

Article 19 After receiving a copy of the ruling of the people’s court on commutation and parole, the people’s procuratorate shall promptly review the following contents:

(a) the people’s court ruled that criminals should be commuted or released on parole, and whether the starting time, interval, actual executed sentence, commutation range or probation period of parole are in compliance with the relevant provisions;

(2) Whether the people’s court’s decision not to reduce the sentence or release the prisoner on parole complies with the relevant provisions;

(3) Whether the procedures for the people’s court to hear and order commutation or parole are legal;

(four) in accordance with the relevant provisions of the commutation and parole cases, whether the people’s court hearing;

(five) whether the ruling of the people’s court on commutation and parole has been served and executed according to law and announced to the public.

Article 20 If the people’s procuratorate considers that the people’s court’s ruling on commutation or parole is improper after examination, it shall, within 20 days after receiving the copy of the ruling, put forward written correction opinions to the people’s court that made the ruling on commutation or parole according to law.

Article 21 If a people’s procuratorate puts forward rectification opinions on the people’s court’s ruling on commutation or parole, it shall supervise the people’s court to re-form a collegiate bench for trial and make a final ruling within one month after receiving the rectification opinions.

Article 22 If the people’s procuratorate finds that the ruling on commutation or parole that has come into effect by the people’s court is indeed wrong, it shall submit a written correction opinion to the people’s court, and request the people’s court to form a new collegial panel according to the trial supervision procedure and make a ruling.

Article 23 If a people’s procuratorate receives a complaint, reports or finds that a judicial officer is suspected of breaking the law in handling a case of commutation or parole, it shall conduct an investigation according to law, and, according to the situation, put forward opinions to the relevant units to correct the violation, suggest changing the case handler, or suggest disciplinary action; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

Twenty-fourth people’s procuratorates handle cases of commutation and parole of duty criminals, and carry out record review in accordance with relevant regulations.

Twenty-fifth the provisions shall come into force as of the date of promulgation. Where the relevant provisions previously issued by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate are inconsistent with these Provisions, these Provisions shall prevail.