On May 20, the National Assembly reviewed the submission, inspection report and discussed in groups the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Penal Code. The draft law has added Article 39a on life imprisonment without consideration for a reduced sentence.
Accordingly, life imprisonment without reduction is an indefinite prison sentence and cannot be considered for reduction of the sentence, except in cases of special pardon, amnesty or reduction or other provisions of the Law on Agriculture, applied to those who commit serious crimes, but not to the extent of being sentenced to death.
The draft proposes not to apply the life sentence without considering a sentence reduction for the following cases:
First, people under 18 years old when committing the offense; pregnant women, women raising children under 36 months old or people aged 75 or older when committing the offense at trial.
The offender who embezzles property or receives bribes and has proactively kept at least 3/4 of his/her embezzled and received bribes and actively cooperated with the authorities in detecting, investigating, and handling the offender or a large public employee.
A person sentenced to life without a reduced sentence for embezzlement of property or bribery, but after being sentenced, he/she has successfully returned at least 3/4 of his/her embezzlement and bribery assets and actively cooperated with the authorities in detecting, investigating, and handling large-scale criminal offenses, which will be reduced to life imprisonment.
In case the person sentenced to life imprisonment without consideration of a reduced sentence is granted a reduced sentence, the life imprisonment without consideration of a reduced sentence shall be converted to life imprisonment.
The death sentence will not be carried out on those sentenced if they fall into one of the following cases: Pregnant women or women raising children under 36 months old; people aged 75 or older; people with terminal cancer; people infected with HIV who have entered the AIDS stage, have a muscle infection.
The life sentence for those under 18 years old who commit crimes shall not be applied.
For cases where the crime has not been committed, if the law is applied with a regulation that the highest penalty is life imprisonment, life imprisonment not considered for reduction or death, the prison sentence shall not exceed 20 years; if it is a term prison, the penalty shall not exceed 3/4 of the prison sentence prescribed by the law.
The effective period of criminal judgment enforcement for those sentenced is stipulated as follows:
- 5 years for cases of fines, non-custodial reform or imprisonment from 03 years or less.
- 10 years for cases of imprisonment from over 3 years to 15 years.
- 15 years for cases of imprisonment from over 15 years to 30 years.
- 20 years for cases of life imprisonment, life imprisonment without consideration of reduction of sentence or death penalty.
