Why should we protect the rights of criminal suspects and defendants? What about indulging in crime? There is too much protection for the rights of criminal suspects and defendants. Who will protect the rights of society? What should criminal suspects and defendants do if they evade investigation, prosecution or trial?
It seems that protecting the rights of defendants is equivalent to "indulging in crimes" and "helping criminals get away with it". Especially in recent years, with the concern of the society for vulnerable groups, it seems that more and more people are questioning the legitimacy of the protection of the rights of criminal suspects and defendants, especially those cases in which the defendants have certain power and official background. Once the protection of the rights of the defendants is involved, they will usually be criticized. Therefore, whether the rights of criminal suspects and defendants are guaranteed is an unavoidable problem for judicial staff.
It is very necessary to protect the rights of the defendant in criminal proceedings. The specific reasons are as follows:
First of all, criminal procedure is an area where civil rights are seriously threatened. The essence of criminal procedure is how to effectively bring the country's criminal prosecution activities into the litigation track. Whether it is the investigation organ, the public prosecution organ or the judicial organ, there is a natural tendency to pursue the maximization of criminal prosecution, thus taking the detection of cases, the arrest of criminal suspects, the prosecution of defendants and the making of guilty judgments as their litigation goals. Most criminal suspects and defendants can be found guilty in the end, which makes the case handlers hold a "politically correct attitude" towards criminal prosecution, and the public easily regards criminal suspects and defendants as moral "enemies". Undoubtedly, there are a lot of taboos to protect the basic rights of defendants today. In addition, from a certain point of view, criminal proceedings are activities that state organs restrict and deprive individuals of their rights according to law. In the investigation stage, the state can use various means to conduct special investigations and take various coercive measures, so it can be said that all kinds of basic rights enjoyed by citizens may be violated in the course of criminal proceedings.
Second, criminal procedure is the most easily abused area of judicial power. In criminal proceedings, the status between the state judicial organ and the defendant is unequal, which is due to the existence of criminal judicial power between them. Criminal judicial power is a one-way and top-down power, and its exercise is conditional on the defendant's obedience. The defendant has no right to choose or refuse the sanctions imposed by the judicial organs, which determines that the criminal judicial power is expansive and invasive, and it is easy to be abused, which will directly lead to the violation of the defendant's rights. Whether it is criminal investigation or conviction and sentencing activities, it is possible to deprive a citizen of his privacy, freedom, property and even life. The exercise of the right of detention and arrest will deprive the criminal suspect of his personal freedom; Searching the suspect's body and residence and seizing articles and documents will infringe on his privacy; In most cases, criminal proceedings end with the conviction and sentencing of the defendant by the court, which will deprive the defendant of his freedom, property and even life. The death penalty deprives citizens of their right to life, life imprisonment and fixed-term imprisonment deprive citizens of their freedom, fines and confiscation of property deprive citizens of their property rights. This kind of violation of civil rights can be justified or improper. From the perspective of ensuring the smooth progress of criminal proceedings, it is of course reasonable to take various coercive measures against criminal suspects. From the point of view of punishing crimes and realizing the right of national punishment, it is understandable to apply criminal punishment measures to convicted persons. It can be said that it is inevitable to restrict and deprive criminal suspects of their civil rights in order to complete the tasks of criminal investigation, prosecution and trial. This kind of violation of citizens' rights is justified and legitimate as long as it has a legal basis and strictly follows legal procedures. However, once the exercise of criminal judicial power goes beyond the boundaries of law or violates the procedures prescribed by law, it will inevitably lead to unreasonable deprivation and illegal infringement of civil rights.
Third, every citizen is a potential criminal suspect and defendant, and protecting the rights of criminal suspects and defendants is actually protecting the rights of every citizen. In many cases, the scope of suspects and defendants is uncertain, and theoretically everyone may be charged with criminal offences. On the other hand, criminal suspects and defendants are first of all citizens who enjoy various rights protection, but they are not necessarily heinous criminals. The state should not deny them morally at every turn. The so-called "suspects" and "defendants" are only suspected of violating legal rules. For these people, before the court finds them guilty, they must be given full rights protection. The danger of infringement faced by criminal suspects and defendants is a danger that almost every citizen may encounter. In other words, the protection of the rights of criminal defendants is essentially a question of how citizens resist arbitrary prosecution by state power. How the state treats criminal suspects and defendants is a mirror of how the state treats citizens and reflects the basic attitude of the state towards citizens.
I hope the above content can help you. If in doubt, please consult a professional lawyer.
Legal basis:
Article 2 of the criminal law
The tasks of the Criminal Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) are: to fight against all criminal acts with penalties, so as to safeguard national security, the people's democratic dictatorship and the socialist system, to protect state-owned property and property collectively owned by working people, to protect property privately owned by citizens, to protect citizens' personal rights, democratic rights and other rights, to maintain social and economic order and to ensure the smooth progress of socialist construction.