1st Ld: Prisoner-amnesty deal deliberated by lawmakers

Some prisoners may be considered for an official pardon, according to a draft decision submitted to China's top legislature on Monday.

In the spirit of the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War II, four categories of prisoners who are deemed to not pose a threat to society could be granted amnesty, Li Shishi, director of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee's legislative affairs commission, told a bimonthly session that started on Monday.

The four special cases are:

1) Criminals who fought in China's war of resistance against Japanese invasion from 1937 to 1945 and the civil war against the Kuomintang (KMT) army from 1945 to 1949.

2) Criminals who participated in wars to safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, those found guilty of serious crimes are, however, excluded.

3) Criminals who are 75 or above, and those with physical disabilities that are unable to care for themselves.

4) Those who committed crimes while under the age of 18 and received a maximum sentence of three years in prison, or those whose residue prison term is less than one year. Again, those who were convicted of serious crimes are excluded.

Li underscored that the amnesty deal should not create fear among the general public, thus, felons convicted of violent crimes such as homicide, rape, terrorism or narcotics will not qualify. Enditem