How to look at zero confession, the pros and cons of zero confession

1. "Zero confession" can provide experience and preparation for the accusation of crimes in the future when the right to silence is established. 2. "Zero confession" is conducive to the protection of human rights. Its greatest significance is to awaken people's awareness of rights, that is, to respect the freedom of criminal suspects to speak.

3. It is conducive to the prevention of unjust, false and wrongly decided cases. Confessions are false and volatile. If the prosecution is mainly based on confessions, the defendant often retracts his confession at trial.

At this time, there are often loopholes in other evidence, and due to the limitation of the time limit for litigation, it is easy to have unjust, false and wrongly decided cases. "Zero confession" can dilute the role of confession, avoid the false induction of confession to the prosecutor, improve the accuracy of the public prosecution, and ensure the authenticity of the case to the greatest extent. 4. It can effectively curb the current phenomenon of extorting confessions by torture, prompt investigators to actively collect evidence, and improve the level of investigators.

5. It can solve the problem of lawyers having difficulty meeting with criminal suspects during the investigation phase, and most of the cases handlers in the investigation phase obstruct lawyers from meeting with criminal suspects because they are in a period of pressure to extract confessions, and they are afraid that lawyers will intervene in the criminal suspect's failure to confess or that lawyers will accuse the relevant organs of extorting confessions by torture on behalf of the criminal suspects, and expose the phenomenon of extorting confessions by torture. "Zero confession" is a compromise between the right to silence and the legal system of criminal procedure.

Zero confession or cautious sentence to avoid misunderstanding...

Legal analysis: If it is said that although the criminal suspect has no confession in the process of filing and investigating, but the investigating agency has other evidence sufficient to prove that he has constituted a crime, Tuan Tuxia will also be convicted, so it is possible to be convicted in accordance with the law without the defendant's confession, then this provision can also avoid the protection of human rights during interrogation, and urge investigators to actively collect evidence and improve the level of investigators. The so-called "zero confession" refers to a situation in which a criminal suspect only makes a plea of innocence or refuses to make a confession of guilt in the course of being filed for investigation, prosecution, or trial, or does not respond to the interrogation of the investigating organ.

Although there is no confession at the interrogation, if the other evidence in the possession of the investigating agency is sufficient to prove that the crime has been constituted, the person may still be convicted and punished. Where there is no confession from the defendant, but the evidence is truly solid and sufficient, guilt may be found and a punishment may be given.

Legal basisCriminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China》 Article 55: The principle of emphasizing evidence, investigation and research, and not lightly believing confessions, in all cases, the sentencing should be based on evidence, investigation and research, and confessions should not be lightly believed. Where there is only the defendant's confession and there is no other evidence, the defendant cannot be found guilty and punished; Where there is no confession from the defendant and the evidence is credible and sufficient, the defendant may be found guilty and given a punishment. The evidence is credible and sufficient, and shall meet the following requirements:

1) The facts of conviction and sentencing are all supported by evidence; (2) The evidence on which the verdict is based has been verified as true through legally-prescribed procedures; (3) Summarizing all the evidence in the case, reasonable doubt has been eliminated as to the facts ascertained.

Derivative question: Can a signed statement be changed?

If there is something unclear in the first confession, or if there is something wrong in the statement, you can make a different statement when you record the confession later. According to the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, interrogation records shall be given to the criminal suspect for verification, and those who do not have the ability to read shall be read out to him. If there are omissions or errors in the record, the criminal suspect may submit a supplement or correction.

No tare weight penalty will be added to a zero confession. Zero confession is not an aggravating circumstance under the Criminal Law. When the aggravating punishment is combined for index crimes, the maximum sentence may be higher than the maximum sentence of the multiple sentences imposed, and the sentence may be enforced beyond the general statutory maximum limit of fixed-term imprisonment, short-term detention, or controlled release.

Article 61 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China.

When deciding on the punishment of criminals, they shall be cleared and sentenced in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Law on the basis of the facts of the crime, the nature and circumstances of the crime, and the degree of harm to society.

Article 62.

Where criminals have the circumstances provided for in this Law for heavier or lighter punishments, they shall be given a criminal punishment within the legally-prescribed limits.

Article 63.

Where criminals have mitigating circumstances provided for in this Law, they shall be given a punishment below the legally-prescribed penalty; Where this Law provides for several sentencing ranges, the answer shall be given within the next sentencing range of the legally-prescribed sentencing range.

Although criminals do not have the mitigating circumstances provided for in this Law, they may also be sentenced to a punishment below the legally-prescribed penalty upon approval by the Supreme People's Court on the basis of the special circumstances of the case.

Confessions can be evidence and are an important way of forming evidence. The purpose of collecting evidence is to prove whether the suspect has committed a crime. Confessions are a form of evidence (verbal evidence), and there are various forms of evidence, such as those that can prove the facts and conduct of a crime.

As long as the collection method and procedure are legal and the collection itself is legal, it can be used as evidence.

The meaning of zero confession is that other physical and documentary evidence can be sufficient for the suspect to have criminal facts and criminal acts, and the case can be convicted without the support of the confession.

Our rules on confessions.

1. Where there is a confession but there is no other evidence to testify, it must not be the basis of a verdict.

2. Where there is no confession, but there is other evidence to prove it, it may be the basis for a verdict.

The so-called zero confession is the second middle school.

Confessions extorted by torture lack evidentiary capacity and cannot be used as the basis of a verdict.

Since August 2008, the Fushun City District Procuratorate of Liaoning Province promulgated the "Rules for Zero Confession of the Chief Procurator in Handling Cases", which has caused a great shock in China's legal circles and press circles. I applaud those who clearly put forward the zero-confession rule, and applaud the Fushun City District Procuratorate for boldly adopting the zero-confession rule. The implementation of the zero confession rule will certainly affect and promote the revision and improvement of China's Criminal Procedure Law, and will also speed up the process of China's criminal evidence legislation.

So, as a lawyer, I would like to talk about my own superficial views and understandings on this issue.