China may review execution policy changes

China is considering reviewing the number of crimes which attract the death penalty.



The country's highest law-making body, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, will debate a draft amendment to the criminal law next month.



According to the BBC, there are currently 68 crimes which carry the death penalty in China.



There have been repeated claims of miscarriages of justice as lower courts were given the right to approve the death penalty in the 1980s.



Chinese officials say the number of executions has dropped since 2007, after a change in the law ensured all death sentences be reviewed by a higher court.



Beijing does not publish official figures on executions, but Amnesty International estimates that China executed several thousands of people in 2009.