Study On The Sentencing In Female Victims Of The Domestic Violence Killing Their Husbands

By screening out cases about female victims of domestic violence,who killed their husbands in the past five years through China Judgements Online,156 of them have been taken as the research sample for analyzing the current situation of screening in such cases.Only surrender,confession,and self-defense are being used as the common statutory sentencing circumstances after analysis.Due to the reason that both surrender and confession are considered as the "Can-type" sentencing circumstances and they usually come with extenuatory sentencing circumstances,penalty difference happens as such cases depend more on the judge’s discretion.On the contrary,as the only "Should-type" sentencing circumstance,self-defense does not suit most cases.There are many kinds of discretionary sentencing circumstances in this type of case.Compared with general intentional homicide cases,the characteristic of being both a victim and a perpetrator in domestic violence cases stood out.Moreover,the victim’s fault as a sentencing circumstance is being considered the degree of sentencing.With the unclear regulations in the Criminal Law and Judicial Interpretation,a difference appears in determination.Therefore,it is necessary to discuss the problems in the sentencing of domestic violence cases in which the victims killed their husbands and propose corresponding solutions.Compared with ordinary intentional homicide cases,domestic violence cases are characterized by the overlapping roles of the perpetrator and the victim,low level of social harm,and low level of personal risks.When sentencing,the fact that a woman who was a victim of domestic violence should be considered,and a lighter sentence should be imposed.However,this type of case is still regarded as an ordinary case of intentional homicide,and women who are victims of domestic violence are given a heavier sentence.Also,different judgments in the same case and the situation of public opinion affecting sentencing often occur.If these problems are not resolved,it will easily lead to lower credibility of the judiciary or penalty judgments influenced by the excessive number of public opinions.Finally,the statistical analysis of sentencing also shows that the application rate of probation in such cases is low.It is an undoubted waste of the limited prison resources if women who are victims of domestic violence with less subjective evil,less personal danger,and lower possibility of recidivism are not applied to probation.To solve the problems in sentencing and help female victims in domestic violence cases to get fairer penalty discretion,people can start with the following measures: first,determine the victim’s fault as a statutory sentencing circumstance,and use "BWS" to help the judicial personnel understand how special this kind of cases are,figure out the criminal motivation of female victims in the domestic violence cases.Consequently,reduce the sentencing bias.Secondly,the situation of different sentences in the same cases can be alleviated by refining relevant judicial interpretations.Thirdly,public opinions can be standardized into the penalty discretion of such cases through the establishment of a community jury system or sentencing hearing system.Lastly,try to abandon the idea of heavy punishment by using various sentencing circumstances,and apply probation on female victims of domestic violence who meet the conditions.Helping female victims of domestic violence to get a reasonable punishment along with their criminal behaviors,solve the problems existing in the sentencing of such cases.At the same time,make the public feel the temperature of law,and leave positive effects on society by making proper sentences on such cases.