Analysis Of Convictions In Cases Of Death By Abuse Of Family Members

In judicial practice and criminal law theory,the conviction of cases of family abuse resulting in death is more controversial.From the selected cases of Xie’s abused daughter,Ding’s injured wife and Yan’s abused father,there are three main points of contention in these cases,namely,how to determine the crime of abuse "aggravating circumstances" standard,how to apply the crime of abuse and assault,and how to ultimately convict and punish.By analyzing the different views of the prosecution and the defence on the three controversial points in the sample cases,it was found that the existing law was too vague in its determination of "aggravating circumstances",so the criteria for determining whether the abuse reached the level of aggravating circumstances varied,and the conclusion of whether the abuse was criminalized was inconsistent.In order to solve this dilemma,the standard of "aggravating circumstances" can be considered in the light of the characteristics of the abusive act and judicial practice experience,in terms of the "badness of the act,the seriousness of the result and the social harm".The crime of abuse is a crime of circumstance,which is committed under aggravating circumstances,while the crime of intentional injury is a crime of result,which is committed when the result is more than minor injury.By comparing the elements of the crimes of abuse and intentional injury,it is clear that the two crimes differ in terms of the legal interests infringed,the manifestation of the act,and the subjective intent,and that the crime of abuse was not created to remove the crime of intentional injury from domestic crime,so the establishment of the crime of abuse does not affect the determination of the crime of intentional injury.In the process of domestic violence,as long as the facts that meet the elements of the crime of intentional injury can be found,the crime of intentional injury should be found.For the ultimate result of death,it is determined whether the crime of abuse or the aggravating circumstance of intentional injury is applicable according to what kind of criminal act triggered it.As the crime of intentional injury and abuse are not in an absorbing or inclusive relationship,the two crimes are in fact opposites.Therefore,in the three sample cases,the defendants’ abuse with assault should have been evaluated separately and,where both crimes could be found,the penalties were combined.