Death penalty will be used more sparingly: China court

Beijing: China's highest court has urged that the death penalty be used less and for only the most serious criminal cases.

In an interview published in the Legal Daily newspaper, a senior official with the Supreme People's Court said it will improve legislation to cut down the number of death sentences and sentence more criminals to a death sentence with reprieve.

That sentence can be commuted to life in prison and later less for good behavior.

China imposes capital punishment more than any other country. Amnesty International reported earlier this year that China put at least 1,718 people to death in 2008.

The Supreme People's Court has reviewed all death penalty decisions since 2007, following a series of scandals involving miscarriage of justice and false prosecutions.