1. Overview of the death penalty in Vietnamese criminal law

1.1. Concept of death penalty

The death penalty is the most severe form of punishment in the penal system of Vietnamese criminal law. This is a measure to completely eliminate criminals from society, in order to strongly deter particularly dangerous acts. The death penalty is only applied to crimes of a particularly serious nature, causing major social, economic or political consequences.

1.2. Legal basis for the death penalty

The death penalty is stipulated in Article 40 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended and supplemented in 2017). Accordingly:

• The death penalty is only applied to a number of particularly serious crimes that pose the highest level of danger to society.

• It is not applied to people under 18 years of age when committing the crime, pregnant women, women raising children under 36 months of age, and people aged 75 and over.

• People sentenced to death may be granted clemency if they apply and are approved by the President.

• People who commit corruption crimes may be exempted from the death penalty if they proactively return all embezzled assets before being investigated.

2. Current status of the application of the death penalty in Vietnam

2.1. Crimes subject to the death penalty

According to the provisions of the 2015 Penal Code, the death penalty is applied to the following groups of crimes:

• Group of crimes against national security: Acts that seriously affect the survival of the State, including:

Treason against the Fatherland (Article 108): Applied to Vietnamese citizens who collude with foreign countries to oppose the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Activities aimed at overthrowing the people's government (Article 109).

• ​​Group of crimes against human life:

Murder (Article 123): The death penalty is applied to acts of killing many people, killing children, killing people by barbaric methods, killing people for despicable motives, killing people to commit other crimes or organized murder.

• Drug-related crimes:

Illegal production, transportation, and trading of narcotics (Articles 248, 250, 251): Applicable to acts involving large quantities of narcotics such as heroin and methamphetamine.

Corruption and economic crimes:

Embezzlement of property (Article 353) and Bribery (Article 354): Applicable to embezzled or bribed property valued at VND 1 billion or more.

2.2. Trend of reducing the scope of application of the death penalty

In recent years, Vietnamese law has changed in the direction of narrowing the scope of application of the death penalty, in line with the general trend of the world:

• Eliminating the death penalty for some crimes such as robbery, counterfeiting.

• Stipulating the conditions for converting from the death penalty to life imprisonment if the convicted person actively cooperates with the investigation agency or overcomes the consequences.

2.3. Death penalty execution process

According to Article 82 of the 2010 Law on Criminal Judgment Execution, the current execution of the death penalty is carried out by lethal injection, replacing the previous method of execution by firing squad. This method aims to:

• Reduce pain for the person being executed.

• Limit the psychological impact on the execution officer.

However, the lethal injection method also faces some difficulties:

• The supply of poison is scarce because many countries prohibit the export of this drug.

• Some cases of ineffective execution, causing the process to be prolonged.

2.4. Controversial issues

• The deterrent effect of the death penalty: There is a view that the death penalty helps deter criminals, but there are also opposing opinions that it does not really prevent crime.

• Risk of wrongful convictions: Many wrongful convictions have occurred due to errors in investigation and trial (for example, the cases of Ho Duy Hai and Han Duc Long).

• Death penalty in corruption cases: Should the death penalty be maintained for economic crimes or should it be focused on asset recovery?

3. Recommendations

3.1. Continue to narrow the scope of the death penalty

Abolish the death penalty for economic crimes such as embezzlement and bribery.

Limit the death penalty in drug cases.

3.2. Reform the procedural process

Improve the quality of investigation and trial to avoid wrongful convictions.

Strengthen the supervision of the Procuracy and human rights organizations.

3.3. Strengthen the amnesty policy

Expand amnesty conditions for death row inmates who have rehabilitated well.

Develop a clear mechanism on the time and process of amnesty to ensure transparency.

3.4. Strengthen legal propaganda and education

Raise legal awareness among people, especially in areas prone to crime such as drugs and corruption.

Facilitating the reintegration of criminals into the community after serving their sentences.

4. Conclusion

The death penalty remains an important tool in the Vietnamese criminal justice system, but adjustments are needed to ensure humanity and fairness. Narrowing the scope of the death penalty, reforming the trial and execution process will help reduce errors and ensure justice in practice.

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