Chinanews, Beijing, September 7 – According to Jiang Xingchang, vice president of the Supreme People’s Court of China, the number of death penalties sentenced in China has dropped noticeably this year, as starting last January 1, all the death-penalty cases must be reviewed by a special panel of judges at the Supreme People’s Court before execution.The record at the Supreme People’s Court shows that a large proportion of death-penalty verdicts filed for approval had been rejected.The Supreme People’s Court has long been prudent and cautious in the execution of death sentences, and the capital punishment will only apply to a very small number of major criminal offenders.Last year, the number of death sentences executed reached a new low in 10 years, and it is possible that the record might be broken by the end of this yearRecently, the number of death penalties with a 2-year reprieve has surpassed the number of death penalties with immediate execution.The review of death-penalty cases by the Supreme People’s Court means that local judges have to be more cautious to make judgments when dealing with such cases.