{"id":136646,"date":"2012-05-22T00:00:47","date_gmt":"2012-05-22T07:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=136646"},"modified":"2012-05-22T14:27:43","modified_gmt":"2012-05-22T21:27:43","slug":"former-tycoon-wu-ying-likely-to-escape-execution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/05\/former-tycoon-wu-ying-likely-to-escape-execution\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Tycoon Wu Ying Likely to Escape Execution"},"content":{"rendered":"
Zhejiang’s fallen business tycoon Wu Ying was resentenced on Monday in a decision likely to avert her execution for fraudulent fundraising<\/strong><\/a>. Her controversial death sentence was overturned last month by China’s Supreme People’s Court, which upheld her guilt but sent the sentence back to the provincial court for reconsideration<\/a>. From Caixin:<\/p>\n After a serial of trials which first began in April 2009, Wu Ying was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, according to the Zhejiang Higher People\u2019s Court website.<\/p>\n Legal experts immediately interpreted the sentence as life imprisonment under China\u2019s legal environment.<\/p>\n Wu\u2019s former lawyer Zhang Yanfeng said to media, \u201cShe\u2019s been sentenced to life imprisonment, barring any wrongdoing in the next two years.\u201d Zhang said the verdict was expected as provincial high courts are subordinate to the Supreme People\u2019s Court.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n New York University law professor Jerome Cohen told The New York Times last month that the SPC’s decision \u201cseems a typical Chinese judicial compromise<\/a> between what those who call for the death penalty wanted and what Wu\u2019s many supporters, both popular and professional, have called for\u201d. The new suspended death sentence may be an attempt to maintain a similar balance, compared with the lighter sentences Cohen held out as another possible outcome. But human rights researcher Joshua Rosenzweig described it as “a gutless decision, one that ignores core problems with the case<\/a>“. Although some supporters expressed satisfaction at Wu’s likely escape from execution, questions about uneven punishment and institutional problems remain<\/strong><\/a>. From Chuin-Wei Yap at China Real Time Report:<\/p>\n The case attracted widespread media attention for the severity of the sentence and the long-running campaign in China\u2019s blogosphere to save her.<\/p>\n Many of her supporters wondered aloud why she was facing death when corrupt officials found guilty of similar crimes were often granted lighter sentences \u2026.<\/p>\n For the public that\u2019s kept the issue alive for more than three years, it\u2019s a gratifying conclusion. \u201cIt\u2019s not just Wu Ying,\u201d Wang Shuo, a prominent magazine editor, wrote on the Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo. \u201cIf it\u2019s non-violent financial crime, no one should die.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWu Ying was unlucky to run into hole in the legal system,\u201d added another Sina Weibo user writing under the handle Chaoxin Xinzhixing. \u201cWhen will China\u2019s legal system be more robust, so the public can be convinced?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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