The female driver in the Maserati case was sentenced to life. When will she be released from prison soon?

At 3 pm on November 6, 2020, the verdict was finally announced in the Maserati collision case. The defendant Tan Moumou was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime of "endangering public safety by dangerous means", and the remaining two defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment. She was sentenced to 3 years in prison and suspended for 3 years. The rationality of the sentence has been debated endlessly. This article discusses how soon the female Maserati driver can be released from prison?

In July 2019, a traffic accident occurred in Yongcheng, Henan Province. The female driver Tan Moumou drove a Maserati under the influence of alcohol and hit a BMW 7 Series, killing 2 people and seriously injuring 4 others. As a result, Tan Moumou's blood alcohol content exceeded 160 mg/100 ml, which constituted drunk driving, and there had been many hit-and-run incidents before hitting the BMW.

According to relevant judicial opinions, Tan Moumou’s behavior constituted the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous methods. The People’s Procuratorate of Shangqiu City, Henan Province initiated a public prosecution against Tan Moumou. In January 2020, Shangqiu City The Intermediate People's Court opened a court session to hear the case.

Before the verdict, the defendant and the victim’s family had reached a civil compensation agreement, but “the specific amount of compensation is not convenient to disclose to the outside world.” During the trial, Tan Moumou knelt down and apologized to the victim's family, but the family members refused and stated that they would not understand. In the end, Tan Moumou was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The author speculates that the three defendants will not appeal, and the procuratorate will not protest. In other words, this case is basically settled.

The author noticed that there was a small detail in the trial. Tan knelt down and apologized to the victim’s family, but the family refused. The problem is that before that, they had reached a civil compensation agreement, and That is to say, the family members took the money but did not understand. This situation is relatively common. We need to distinguish between active compensation and understanding.

According to the "Sentencing Guidance Opinions" of the Supreme Law, first, if the person actively compensates and obtains understanding, the base sentence can be reduced by up to 40%. Second, if compensation is actively sought but no understanding is obtained, the base penalty may be reduced by up to 30%. Third, although there is no compensation, if an understanding is obtained, the base sentence can be reduced by up to 20%.

The situation in this case belongs to the second type: "active compensation but no understanding." When Tan knelt down in court, he showed a posture of admitting guilt and repentance, and actively compensated, even if no understanding was obtained. , can also be given a lighter punishment.

Article 78 of the Criminal Law stipulates that criminals sentenced to life imprisonment may have their sentences reduced if they conscientiously abide by prison regulations, accept education and reform, show repentance, or perform meritorious services. If a person is sentenced to life imprisonment, the actual term of imprisonment shall not be less than 13 years.

In other words, Tan Moumou in this case, under the most ideal situation, can be released from prison after being detained for 13 years. Now it has been more than a year, and he can be released in about 12 years. came out. Of course, this is only the most ideal situation.

According to the "Regulations of the Supreme People's Court on the Specific Application of Laws in Handling Commutation and Parole Cases", life imprisonment can be commuted after serving more than 2 years.

For those who repent or perform meritorious service, the period will be reduced to 22 years; for those who repent and perform meritorious services, the period will be reduced to 21 years or more but not more than 22 years; for those who have made major meritorious services, the period will be reduced to 20 years or more but not more than 21 years; Reduced to more than 19 years and less than 20 years. After the sentence is commuted to fixed-term imprisonment, the commutation rules shall be based on the rules of fixed-term imprisonment, but the interval shall not be less than 2 years.

Assuming that Tan Moumou has not committed meritorious service, that is, he can be commuted to 22 years in prison, and will be dealt with in accordance with the rules on commutation of fixed-term prison sentences. If there is repentance or meritorious service, the sentence will not be reduced by more than 9 months at a time.

To summarize, Tan Moumou will be commuted to 22 years in prison after two years, and will be given a chance to commute every two years, up to 9 months.

In the operation of commutation, many details will affect the commutation, such as the nature and circumstances of the crime, the degree of social harm, the reform of property sentences and other factors. The property judgments mentioned here include judgments such as recovery, ordering compensation, fines, and confiscation of property.

In judicial practice, in order to limit the reduction of sentences for certain criminals, judges will impose huge fines. Such penalties are also in compliance with the law. The most common one is smuggling crimes.

In addition to the above factors that affect the reduction of sentences, there is also a small detail. Some people think that they have been wronged and keep complaining and crying about injustice in prison. According to regulations, criminals have the right to complain during the execution of their sentences. They should be protected in accordance with the law, and their legitimate complaints cannot be regarded as a confession of guilt and repentance without analysis.

This provision is a bit strange. It first emphasizes the protection of the right to appeal, but leaves a backdoor: "It cannot be regarded as a non-confession of guilt and repentance without analysis." This leads to the situation where there is really an unjust case. Under this circumstance, "criminals" will most likely not receive a reduced sentence.

The case of the Maserati hitting a BMW lasted for more than a year from the incident to the verdict. Every report on the case will arouse heated discussions. There are too many sensitive words in the case: "female driver", "Maserati", "BMW", "drunk driving".

Some people think that this sentence is legal and reasonable, while others think that Tan deserves to die. No matter what, we hope that the deceased rests in peace, the injured recover as soon as possible, and the victim’s family expresses their condolences.

Some people think that since the family members have received huge compensation, they should forgive Tan Moumou. To this day, the author can still understand the anger and sadness of the victim’s family members. If I could just forget about the "pain of separation", That's too scary. We are flesh and blood.