Wang Yuesheng (hlj.rednet.cn): Although China's criminal justice system and policies have made headway since the extensive amendment of the Criminal Law in 1997, some regulations still have room for improvement.

By taking into full consideration China's social realities, the top legislature has started the process to revise certain sections of the Criminal Law. To do away with the death penalty for people above the age of 75, particularly, shows respect for life. More importantly, it goes along with international trends in terms of capital punishment. After all, more than 100 countries and regions around the world have abolished or virtually abolished the death penalty.

To impose light punishments on and even abolish the death penalty for those above the age of 75 highlights the traditional virtues of respecting the elderly and taking good care of the young. It also shows the progress of China's legal system.

Previous examples prove subjecting less people to certain criminal punishments does not necessarily boost crime rates. For example, in 1997, China abolished the death penalty for the crime of theft and only retained it for those who steal precious cultural relics and bank assets. During the past 13 years the number of theft cases in China has not rocketed.

The possibility of someone above the age of 75 committing crimes is slim. The Chinese people have a strong sense of family and of retaining their integrity into their later years and do not like to risk losing it all in their last years of life.

A complicated and long-term task would be how to prevent gangs from paying the elderly to commit crime, to ensure the law's deterrence while enabling it to be tempered with mercy.

Xie Mu (www.chinacourt.org): The death penalty must be handed down very cautiously. To deal with groups of culprits differently is an important embodiment of the criminal justice policy of combining leniency with severity in any process. To waive the death penalty for the elderly who are incapable of repeating crimes and unlikely to cause serious harm to society, means protecting and respecting them.

Annulling the death penalty for those above the age of 75 is also technically feasible. There are many other kinds of punishments suitable for the elderly. The death penalty is necessary when all other means fail to prevent them from repeating serious crimes. Excluding this group from capital punishment will signify a big step forward in China's protection of human rights.

Risks evident

Cui Jianmin (hlj.rednet.cn): It is absolutely necessary to take "humanitarianism" and "social stability" into account during the legislative process, but they should not be overemphasized.

The principle of equality before the law should be upheld by legislative practices. This principle demands punishment should match the severity of the crime, regardless of gender, age, color, wealth, power, academic background and state of health. If this principle can not be realized, the law is not fair nor just, which is disruptive of social harmony.

In people's minds, senior citizens tend to be reliable and very critical of social injustice. So we are less willing to suspect a senior citizen of committing a crime. But since the elderly don't have long lives in front of them, they can equally bravely become warriors for social justice as well as be overwhelmed by evil intentions. Once they become criminals, they are less likely to be deterred by an outcome. In this sense, elderly criminals are more dangerous to society.

Some people worry if people aged 75 or older are exempt from capital punishment, extreme antisocial organizations might take advantage of them to commit violent crimes. This situation is highly probable because elderly people tend to have poorer judgment and are therefore vulnerable to manipulation.

The motive for exempting people 75 years old or older from capital punishment is good, but its implementation would cause serious side effects. In a sense, this amendment encourages elderly people to commit crimes. I believe elderly people, no matter how old they are, should never be exempted from death penalty simply because of their age.

Su Hai (www.china.org.cn): Society should respect and take care of our senior citizens, especially those over 75 years old. But they are not necessarily the weaker when committing a crime. They are stronger than children and people who are older than them and could become a potential threat to weaker people if such an exemption was put into place.

When a law is drafted, people's interests should be considered. Here people do not only include criminals, but also the victims. The amendment to the Criminal Law should not create loopholes, which could be exploited by people with ulterior motives. I suggest a senior citizen's subjective intent should be taken into consideration when deciding whether he or she should be exempted from capital punishment.

Many supporters of the amendment suggest that it is taken from laws of other countries. But there are major differences between criminal justice systems in China and in other countries. For example, convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in China usually can have their sentences commuted to fixed-term imprisonment after serving a certain number of years.

Zhi Feng (hlj.rednet.cn): Humanitarianism doesn't require special treatment of elderly criminals but it does demand everyone is respected and cared for and every offense is punished by law. So-called "humanitarian" treatment of exempting criminals aged 75 or older from death penalty might be inhuman to their victims. Even worse, making the punishment more lenient could undercut the deterrent of the Criminal Law and put the safety of society at stake.

Humanitarianism in the Criminal Law should be reflected by equality rather than the privilege enjoyed by certain people. Laws are to protect the interests of all citizens and make them positive factors in the social environment.

Wang Lin (www.yzdsb.com.cn): The abolition of death penalty has been debated for years since the penalty has both advantages and disadvantages. Retaining the death penalty is a necessary means to deal with diehard criminals for now.

Now is not the best time to annul capital punishment for senior citizens of 75 years old or older. Otherwise, it's hard to predict how many elderly people without a source of livelihood would be used by criminals as surrogates. This is a very terrible but possible scenario we have to consider.

I don't oppose the efforts of the anti-death penalty movement, but whether capital punishment should be revoked must be based on national conditions.