LIFE IMPRISONMENT IN CHINA
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Life imprisonmentLife imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are considered extremely serious and usually violent. Examples of these crimes are murder, torture, terrorism, child abuse resulting in death, rape, espionage, treason, illegal drug trade, human trafficking, severe fraud and financial crimes, aggravated property damage, arson, hate crime, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, theft, piracy, aircraft hijacking, and genocide. Common law murder is a crime for which life imprisonment is mandatory in several countries, including some states of the United States and Canada. Life imprisonment (as a maximum term) can also be imposed, in certain countries, for traffic offences causing death. Life imprisonment is not used in all countries; Portugal was the first country to abolish life imprisonment, in 1894, and is the only country in the world that considers that this type of punishment – both for minors and majors, with or without the possibility of parole – is a violation of human rights, all other Portuguese-speaking countries also have maximum imprisonment lengths, as well as all Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas except for Cuba, Peru, Argentina, Chile and the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Other countries that do not practice life sentences include Mongolia in Asia and Norway, Iceland, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Andorra and Montenegro in Europe. Where life imprisonment is a possible sentence, there may also exist formal mechanisms for requesting parole after a certain period of prison time. This means that a convict could be entitled to spend the rest of the sentence (until that individual dies) outside prison. Early release is usually conditional on past and future conduct, possibly with certain restrictions or obligations. In contrast, when a fixed term of imprisonment has ended, the convict is free. The length of time served and the conditions surrounding parole vary. Being eligible for parole does not necessarily ensure that parole will be granted. In some countries, including Sweden, parole does not exist but a life sentence may – after a successful application – be commuted to a fixed-term sentence, after which the offender is released as if the sentence served was that originally imposed. In many countries around the world, particularly in the Commonwealth, courts have been given the authority to pass prison terms that may amount to de facto life imprisonment, meaning that the sentence would last longer than the human life expectancy. For example, courts in South Africa have handed out at least two sentences that have exceeded a century, while in Tasmania, Australia, Martin Bryant, the perpetrator of the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, received 35 life sentences plus 1,035 years without parole. In the United States, James Holmes, the perpetrator of the 2012 Aurora theater shooting, received 12 consecutive life sentences plus 3,318 years without the possibility of parole. In the case of mass murder in the US, Parkland mass murderer Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to 34 consecutive terms of life imprisonment (without parole) for murdering 17 people and injuring another 17 at a school. Any sentence without parole effectively means a sentence cannot be suspended; a life sentence without parole, therefore, means that in the absence of unlikely circumstances such as pardon, amnesty or humanitarian grounds (e.g. imminent death), the prisoner will spend the rest of their natural life in prison. In several countries where de facto life terms are used, a release on humanitarian grounds (also known as compassionate release) is commonplace, such as in the case of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. Since the behaviour of a prisoner serving a life sentence without parole is not relevant to the execution of such sentence, many people among lawyers, penitentiary specialists, criminologists, but most of all among human rights organizations oppose that punishment. In particular, they emphasize that when faced with a prisoner with no hope of being released ever, the prison has no means to discipline such a prisoner effectively. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has considered the issue of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, particularly in relation to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Court has ruled that irreducible life sentences (i.e. an imprisonment for life-regime without parole) violate Article 3. However, the Court has also stated that life sentences can be imposed without breaching Article 3 if there are guarantees of review and release. A few countries allow for a minor to be given a life sentence without parole; these include but are not limited to: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina (only over the age of 16), Australia, Belize, Brunei, Cuba, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, and the United States. According to a University of San Francisco School of Law study, only the U.S. had minors serving such sentences in 2008. In 2009, Human Rights Watch estimated that there were 2,589 youth offenders serving life sentences without the possibility for parole in the U.S. Since the start of 2020, that number has fallen to 1,465. The United States has the highest population of prisoners serving life sentences for both adults and minors, at a rate of 50 people per 100,000 (1 out of 2,000) residents imprisoned for life.
John T. DowneyJohn Thomas Downey or Jack Downey (April 19, 1930 – November 17, 2014) was an American judge and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. As a CIA operative, he was shot down over China during the Korean War and was held prisoner for over twenty years. While Downey was never part of the US military, the CIA described him as the longest-held prisoner of war in United States history. Downey also served on the Connecticut Superior Court and became Chief Administrative Judge for Juvenile Matters.
Life imprisonment in ChinaLife imprisonment is one of the five principal punishments stipulated in Article 33 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China. In the Criminal Law, there are 87 penalties for life imprisonment. Life imprisonment also deprives political rights for life. If the sentence is commuted, the deprivation of political rights will be changed to three to ten years. (Article 57) The term of prosecution shall be 20 years for crimes with the maximum life imprisonment prescribed by law. The extension under special circumstances shall be subject to the approval of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. (Article 87, paragraph 4) If there is no intentional crime at the end of the probation period after the death sentence is suspended, the sentence shall automatically be commuted to life imprisonment (or fixed-term imprisonment of twenty-five years). (Article 50) Life imprisonment may be commuted, and the actual sentence shall not be less than 13 years. If the death penalty with a suspension of execution is converted to life imprisonment, the actual execution shall not be less than 25 years (Article 78). The actual time limit for execution shall be calculated by the commutation award (Article 80). Article 78 of the Criminal Law stipulates the conditions for commutation. If a person has been sentenced to life imprisonment for more than 13 years, he may be released on parole under certain conditions. No parole shall be granted to recidivists and other serious violent crimes who are sentenced to life imprisonment (Article 81). The probation period for parole of life imprisonment is 10 years (Article 83). If the death penalty is suspended for corruption, the court may concurrently sentence him to life imprisonment after the expiration of the sentence, without commutation or parole. On November 15, 2016, the Supreme People's Court issued the Provisions on the Specific Application of Laws in Handling Cases of Commutation and Parole, which stipulates that any prisoner convicted for corruption and bribery who are imprisoned for life cannot be commuted or paroled again. This regulation come into force on January 1, 2017. Although life imprisonment does not exist as a mandatory punishment in China, the following crimes may carry life imprisonment:
Pornography in ChinaIn China, including the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan), the pornography laws and definitions vary depending on the governing authority. In the PRC there are criminal laws which prohibit the production, dissemination, and selling of sexually explicit material, and anyone doing so may be sentenced to life imprisonment. There is an ongoing campaign against "spiritual pollution", the term referencing the Chinese Communist party's Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign of 1983. Although pornography is illegal, it is available via the Internet. Nationwide surveys between the years 2000 and 2015 revealed "more than 70 percent of men aged 18 to 29 said they had watched porn in the past year". PRC authorities have closed down many pornographic services in recent years, but an ongoing cat and mouse game between the two has led providers and users to find other ways to share adult content, both self-made and pirated from other pornographic film studios. In this aspect the development of the nation's online porn industry reflects the overall development of China's Internet. In contrast, pornography is legal in Taiwan and it's available via a number of routes, including DVD, television and the Internet. The level of piracy of pornographic films in the ROC territories is high because authorities have not traditionally recognised their copyrights. Copyright protection is usually strictly applied in the ROC, but pornography has been seen as an exception.
Life imprisonment in SingaporeLife imprisonment is a legal penalty in Singapore. This sentence is applicable for more than forty offences under Singapore law (including the Penal Code, the Kidnapping Act and Arms Offences Act), such as culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempted murder (if hurt was caused), kidnapping by ransom, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, voluntarily causing grievous hurt with dangerous weapons, and trafficking of firearms, in addition to caning or a fine for certain offences that warrant life imprisonment. From 1 January 2013 onwards, the amendments to the death penalty laws in Singapore allow judges to impose life imprisonment as the lowest punishment for capital drug trafficking and murder with no intention to kill, under certain conditions for eligibility. Despite the legal changes and increasing cases of life imprisonment for murder and drug crimes, Law Minister K. Shanmugam revealed in 2020 that through two public surveys on Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans, more than 80% of both groups responded that the death penalty is more effective than life imprisonment as a deterrent towards capital offences. Since 20 August 1997, after the landmark appeal of Abdul Nasir Amer Hamsah, the definition of life imprisonment is changed to mean a term of incarceration for the rest of a convict's natural lifespan, although it carries a possibility of release on parole after a minimum period of 20 years behind bars based on the prisoner's conduct. The most recent case of life imprisonment in Singapore was that of 46-year-old Heng Boon Chai, who was found guilty of murdering his 46-year-old neighbour at Punggol in 2021. Heng was sentenced to life imprisonment (plus ten strokes of the cane) on 7 November 2024.
Zin Mar Nwe caseOn 25 June 2018, at Singapore's Choa Chu Kang, 17-year-old Zin Mar Nwe, a foreign maid from Myanmar, used a knife to stab her employer's mother-in-law, who was alleged to have abused the maid. The 70-year-old elderly victim, an Indian national, sustained 26 knife wounds and died from acute haemorrhage caused by the stabbing. Zin was arrested not long after the killing and charged with murder. Although the victim was initially named in the local and international media, her name was subsequently not reported to protect the identity of one of her family members who was underage. Zin, who claimed that she was suffering from diminished responsibility at the time of the murder, stood trial three years later in November 2021 for the crime. The High Court found her guilty of murder on 18 May 2023, and more than a month later, Zin Mar Nwe was sentenced to life in prison on 4 July 2023, after the trial court duly considered that Zin should not be given the death sentence on account that she was a minor when killing the victim and thus, she was spared the gallows and received a life sentence for the brutal crime. Upon her appeal in 2025, Zin's conviction for murder was reduced to manslaughter by the Court of Appeal, and she is currently pending to be re-sentenced by the appellate court.
Life imprisonment in TaiwanLife imprisonment is one of the five primary punishments stated in the Criminal code of Taiwan. All prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment are also automatically sentenced to deprivation of citizens' rights for life, which bars the subject from working as a public servant or running for public office. An inmate must serve at least 25 years before being eligible for parole. As with the death penalty, life imprisonment cannot be sentenced to minor offenders (under 18) or elders over 80, and any such cases automatically receive reduced sentences. Since there are no longer any crimes with mandatory death penalty, as a consequence all crimes punishable by death are also eligible for life imprisonment.
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