A Difficulty in China's Litigation Supervision and Its Solution——An Analysis of the Act of Extorting a Confession by Torture in the Context of "Prohibition"

While it is strictly prohibited in both China's substantive criminal law and procedural criminal law, the act of extorting a confession by torture occurs repeatedly in China's criminal suit, and few of those who extort a confession by torture are punished so that Article 247 of the criminal law is nearly empty. There are some causes for this: first, the stubborn idea that the act of extorting a confession by torture is legal has impeded the investigation of the act of extorting a confession by torture and taking evidence by violence; second, the act of extorting a confession by torture and taking evidence by violence is not discovered in time; third, a supervision is absent from the act of extorting a confession by torture and taking evidence by violence. To solve this problem, firstly, the judicial philosophy needs to be transformed and the law enforcement environment improved; secondly, a smooth and effective supervision mechanism needs to be set up; third, the criminal responsibility for the act of extorting a confession by torture and taking evidence by violence needs a legislative reconstruction.