In China a man named Xia Junfeng was convicted of "intentional homicide" and sentenced the death penalty. He stabbed and killed two management officers after they beat him.He told the police he acted in self-defense but wasn't taken into consideration. The case went to the Supreme Court in 2009 and this year, on September 25th, he was to be executed. The officials even denied him the right to take a last photo with his family. Meanwhile, Gu Kailai, who was also convicted of "intentional homicide" for pouring rat poison and cyanide mixed in water down the throat of drunken man in a party her husband threw, received a suspended death sentence and would be able to be released after serving only nine years on medical parole. She got off the hook because of her mental illness. Xia and his family didn't have much so they couldn't afford the resources necessary to help his case unlike Gu.
Where a person falls on the economic level plays a big role in the choices they have throughout there life. This story is a perfect example. Xia lost his job so he didn't have the money to pay a lawyer to at least try and make his case a little better. Also, being that it was officers he killed instead of a "normal" person maybe showed he didn't have respect for the government. Gu, who poured rat poison down someone's throat was let off the hook because of a mental illness and her husband obviously being someone important. Those citizens who are in the lower income percentage have no choice but to go along with whatever comes along in life because like people with money, well more money, they can't just pay for there problems to go away.
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1328159/death-penalty-china-linked-social-inequality-say-critics
Tyera Fisher
10/13/13
5:23pm
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