Study on the Prevention and Control of Wrongful Convictions in the Application of the Plea and Penalty Leniency System

Abstract

As a major reform measure in the field of criminal justice in China, the system of pleading guilty and accepting punishment with leniency has effectively improved the efficiency of litigation and optimized the allocation of judicial resources by encouraging suspect and defendants to voluntarily plead guilty and accept punishment with leniency. However, in the process of institutional practice, there are hidden risks of wrongful convictions due to lax control of evidence review standards, insufficient voluntary protection for the accused, and lack of effective legal assistance from duty lawyers. Based on the theoretical exploration of the application of the leniency system for confession and punishment in the prevention and control of wrongful cases, this paper deeply analyzes the internal mechanism of wrongful cases. From the dimensions of strengthening the rigid constraints of the principle of evidence judgment, improving the voluntary review mechanism, and enhancing the substantive legal assistance effectiveness of duty lawyers, this paper proposes paths and strategies for the prevention and control of wrongful cases, aiming to balance the relationship between institutional efficiency and judicial fairness, effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of parties, and protect the bottom line of judicial fairness and justice.