At what stage can a criminal case plead guilty and admit punishment?
Confession and punishment can be put forward at any stage of criminal proceedings, and the system of confession and punishment runs through the whole process of criminal proceedings. If a criminal suspect or defendant pleads guilty and admits punishment, he may fill in a form of pleading guilty and admitting punishment, and may be treated leniently according to law. The lenient system of pleading guilty runs through the whole process of criminal proceedings and is applicable to all stages of investigation, prosecution and trial.
There are no restrictions on the applicable crimes and possible punishments, and all criminal cases can be applied. A criminal suspect or defendant shall not be deprived of the opportunity to plead guilty or voluntarily plead guilty for reasons such as minor, serious or special crimes. However, the application of "can" is not uniform. Whether the criminal suspect or defendant is lenient after pleading guilty is decided by the judicial organs according to the specific circumstances of the case.
In the investigation stage of public security organs, because there is no written statement issued by procuratorial organs, the practice of this system is still mainly reflected in confession, and the Criminal Procedure Law clearly regards "confession and punishment" as an evaluation factor of whether a criminal suspect is "socially dangerous", which is closely related to whether the procuratorial organs approve the arrest in the investigation stage. Therefore, if you have no objection to the charges and the accused charges, I suggest that you plead guilty and admit punishment as soon as possible, that is, clearly put forward the intention of pleading guilty and admitting punishment in the investigation stage, especially in criminal detention, which will play a greater role in whether the procuratorate approves the arrest later.
Confession and punishment in the prosecution stage is the core link in the implementation of the system of confession and punishment, that is, the prosecutor will clearly put forward charges and sentencing suggestions for cases of confession and punishment. This sentencing proposal is not unilaterally put forward by the prosecutor, but a process of sentencing negotiation, in which both the suspect and the defense lawyer can participate.
If you have no objection to your crime and the alleged crime, you can sign the affidavit directly at this stage. It should be noted that signing the affidavit requires the presence of a lawyer. If the suspect does not hire a defense lawyer, the lawyer on duty who undertakes legal aid work can also testify. At this stage, to be on the safe side, I suggest hiring a professional defense lawyer, because at this stage, defense lawyers can read papers, understand the situation of the case, and give professional opinions on the nature of the case, such as whether it may constitute a misdemeanor or not.
In the trial stage of the people's court, if a written statement is signed in the procuratorial organ, the people's court should "generally" adopt the sentencing proposal, that is, if there are no special circumstances, it should be adopted. According to our actual case handling experience, it is definitely useful. At this time, the sentencing suggestion of the procuratorate was put forward on the basis of not pleading guilty and admitting punishment. If the defendant pleads guilty at the trial stage, combined with the attitude of pleading guilty, the presiding judge is likely to sentence below the recommended sentencing range.
It should be noted that even if the confession is withdrawn, it can still be used as evidence of guilty confession. However, the court will combine the evidence of the whole case to analyze the reasons for the retraction and punishment, and will be more cautious in hearing the case. If the facts are really unclear, the evidence is insufficient or the trial does not constitute a crime, even if the written statement is not withdrawn, the court will make an acquittal. Nevertheless, the choice of whether to withdraw the confession and punishment statement still needs to be more cautious.
Legal basis:
Article 15 of the Criminal Procedure Law
If a criminal suspect or defendant voluntarily and truthfully confesses his crime, admits the alleged criminal facts and is willing to accept punishment, he may be treated leniently according to law.
In fact, China's lenient system of pleading guilty protects the interests of criminal suspects and defendants in China. At this time, as long as you plead guilty and admit punishment, the criminal suspect's sentencing will be appropriately reduced and his legitimate rights and interests will be protected.