confined to persons involved in violence or the threat of violence. Thirteen crimes were removed from the list of capital offenses in 2011, including smuggling of cultural relics, wildlife products, and precious metals. This brought the total number of capital offenses down from 68 to 55, though many of the crimes dropped from the list were rarely if ever punished with death penalty. The Draft 9th Amendment to the PRC Criminal Law was passed on 29 August 2015, which removed a further nine crimes from the list of capital offenses. The crimes that were removed were: Smuggling weapons or ammunition Smuggling nuclear materials Smuggling counterfeit money Counterfeiting Investment fraud/fraudulent fundraising Organizing prostitution Forcing prostitution Obstructing military affairs Spreading rumors and undermining morale during wartime Executions procedure The execution protocol is defined on the criminal procedure law, under article 252: Before a people's court executes a death sentence, it shall notify the people's procuratorate at the same level to send personnel to supervise the execution. Death sentences shall be executed by means of shooting or injection. Death sentences may be executed at the execution ground or in designated places of custody. The judicial personnel directing the execution shall verify the identity of the criminal offender, ask him if he has any last words or letters, and then deliver him to the executioner for the death sentence. If, before the execution, it is found that there may be an error, the execution shall be suspended and the matter shall be reported to the Supreme People's Court for decision. Execution of death sentences shall be announced to the public, but shall not be held in public. The attending court clerk shall, after the execution of a death sentence, make a written record thereon. The people's court that caused the death sentence to be executed shall submit a report on the execution to the Supreme People's Court. The people's court that caused the death sentence to be executed shall, after the execution, notify the family of the criminal offender. In some areas of China, there is no specific execution ground. A scout team chooses a place in advance to serve as the execution ground. In such case, the execution ground normally will have three perimeters: the innermost 50 meters is the responsibility of the execution team; the 200 meter radius from the center is the responsibility of the People's Armed Police; and the 2