The most essential difference between the two lies in whether they are sentenced within the scope of statutory punishment.
1. A lighter punishment means that a punishment is imposed within the limits of the statutory punishment.
2. The mitigated punishment refers to the punishment imposed below the limit of the statutory punishment. Although a criminal does not have the circumstances of a legally mitigated punishment, he may, according to the special circumstances of the case and with the approval of the Supreme People's Court, be sentenced to a punishment below the statutory punishment.
[Legal Basis]
In Article 62 of the Criminal Law, if a criminal has the circumstances of heavier or lighter punishment as prescribed in this Law, he shall be sentenced to punishment within the limits of the statutory punishment.
In Article 63 of the Criminal Law, if a criminal has circumstances of mitigated punishment as stipulated in this Law, he shall be sentenced to a punishment below the statutory punishment; If this Law provides for several ranges of sentencing, punishment shall be imposed within the range of sentencing next to the statutory range of sentencing.
Although a criminal does not have the circumstances of a mitigated punishment as provided for in this Law, he may, in light of the special circumstances of the case and with the approval of the Supreme People's Court, be sentenced to a punishment below the statutory punishment.
