The regulations clearly point out that it is strictly forbidden for the case-handling organs to extort confessions by torture and collect evidence by threats, temptations, deception and other illegal methods, and no one may be forced to prove his guilt. In sentencing all cases, we should attach importance to evidence, investigation and research, and we should not trust confessions.
According to the regulations, confessions, witness testimonies and victim statements of criminal suspects and defendants collected by illegal methods such as violence, threats and illegal restriction of personal freedom should be excluded.
The regulations require that the interrogation process should be recorded and videotaped in cases that may be sentenced to life imprisonment or death penalty or other major criminal cases. Audio and video recordings shall be uninterrupted and complete, and shall not be selectively recorded, edited or deleted.
According to the regulations, criminal suspects and their defenders can apply to the people's procuratorate to exclude illegal evidence during the investigation. For major cases, the prosecutors stationed in detention centers of people's procuratorates shall interrogate the criminal suspects before the investigation ends, check whether there are cases of extorting confessions by torture or illegally obtaining evidence, and synchronize audio and video recordings. Upon verification, if it is found that a confession is obtained by torture or illegal evidence is obtained, the investigation organ shall promptly exclude the illegal evidence, which shall not be used as the basis for requesting approval of arrest or transfer for examination and prosecution. At the end of the investigation, the investigation organ shall comprehensively review the evidence materials that prove the legality of evidence collection and exclude illegal evidence according to law. After excluding illegal evidence, if the evidence is insufficient, it will not be transferred for review and prosecution.
The Regulations also require that criminal suspects and defendants who apply for legal aid shall appoint legal aid lawyers in accordance with relevant regulations. Legal aid The lawyer on duty can provide legal aid to criminal suspects and defendants, and act as an agent for complaints and accusations of extorting confessions by torture or illegally obtaining evidence.
According to the regulations, when the people's court serves a copy of the indictment on the defendant and his defender, it shall inform him of his right to apply for the exclusion of illegal evidence. The defendant and his defender shall apply for the exclusion of illegal evidence before the trial, except that relevant clues or materials are found during the trial.
The public prosecutor, the defendant and their defenders failed to reach an agreement on the legality of evidence collection in the pre-trial meeting. If the people's court has doubts about the legality of evidence collection, it shall conduct an investigation during the trial. After investigating the legality of evidence collection, the court shall, in principle, make a decision on whether to exclude relevant evidence in court. Before the court decides whether to exclude the relevant evidence, it is not allowed to read and cross-examine the relevant evidence. If the people's court of first instance does not exclude illegal evidence that should be excluded according to law, the people's court of second instance may exclude illegal evidence according to law.
The person in charge of the relevant departments in the Supreme People's Court said that this regulation, with the aim of "accurately punishing crimes, effectively protecting human rights and promoting judicial justice", puts forward higher standards and stricter requirements for investigation, prosecution, defense and trial, which is helpful to urge the case handlers to collect, examine and use evidence in strict accordance with the law. At the same time, it is also helpful to establish and improve the legal system that the fact finding conforms to the objective truth, the case handling result conforms to the substantive justice and the case handling process conforms to the procedural justice, and provides a clearer and more standardized basis for handling criminal cases.