Do the “Haves” come out ahead in China's prisons? - An empirical study of China's commutation procedures

Based on the empirical study on the commutation procedure at prison X, located in East China's P city, this article highlights that during the period between 2011 and 2013, there were higher chances of commutation for three types of convicted “Haves” prisoners, which include those criminals convicted for duty crime, financial crime and gangland crime. This finding is to some extent consistent with the Party Capability Theory, which hypothesizes that those who are rich or powerful can more easily win or hold advantage in legal procedures. However, the Party Capability Theory alone is insufficient to explain the empirical phenomenon of “the Haves come out ahead in commutation procedures” in China as both procedural and policy factors play increasingly important roles. Both the commutation practice and the policy of controlling three types of prisoners' commutation in China have, to some extent, challenged the universality of the Party Capability Theory, inspiring us to pay closer attention to China's judicial procedures and policies.