Drawing the Line between Life and Death

While there is rich literature on capital sentencing in the U.S., there is a dearth of comparative analysis of the challenges Chinese courts face in drawing the distinction between life and death sentences in the country’s unique social and political context. The central purpose of this seminar is to illuminate the process and politics of China’s sentencing process for capital murder and drug offender. Since 2007, China’s death penalty reform has resulted in a recalibration of the convicted murderers’ eligibility for execution. The reform heralded a substantial decline in the number of capital sentences, as well as a rise of the alternative to executions – the suspended death sentence. In the reform era, how do Chinese courts determine who should be spared from execution and who deserves the ultimate punishment of death? Using quantitative analysis capital cases as well as elite interviews with Chinese judges, the speaker analyzed the political logic behind the Chinese courts’ approach to defining the execution-worthiness of convicted murderers and drug offenders.

Michelle Miao is an Assistant Professor of law, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the deputy director of Centre of Rights and Justice in CUHK Law. Professor Miao teaches in the areas of criminal law and the Chinese legal system. Among Professor Miao's research interests are the intersections between the domains of criminology, human rights, socio-legal studies and international law. Michelle's recent scholarship focused on the administration of criminal law and policies in China and the United States. Professor Miao conducted research in the capacity of New York University’s Global Fellow, University of Oxford’s Howard League Fellowship and British Academy’s prestigious Postdoc Research Fellow.