At the time of the crime, the accused was 14 years old. Such a strict judgment against minors has not been known until now, even in Kini nor anywhere in the world, writes DW.
The court established that in the summer of 2025, the perpetrator first raped his then 15-year-old friend from school after a party on the way home, and then, in order to cover up the crime, strangled her. The judges assessed that there was a special gravity of guilt and imposed the harshest possible sentence. The accused, as stated, confessed to the crime.
"Such harsh judgments are the exception rather than the rule," says Georg Gesk, a professor of Chinese law at Germany's Osnabrück University.
According to data from the Chinese state agency Xinhua, juvenile offenders are most often involved in sexual offenses or internet fraud. The Supreme Prosecutor's Office in Beijing stated that in 2024, four cases were conducted against defendants between the ages of 12 and 13, and the sentences ranged from 10 to 15 years in prison.
"From a legal and sociological point of view, it can be seen that there are young people who believe that nothing serious can happen to them. Also, there are movies and manga comics in which youth violence is glorified and which have a great influence throughout East Asia, mainly among young audiences," Gesk adds.
Criminal liability lowered to 12 years
Criminal liability in China was gradually reduced by the changes to the Criminal Code in 2021. Young people from the age of 16 are considered fully criminally responsible. Teenagers aged 14 to 16 can be charged with eight serious crimes, such as murder, rape, grievous bodily harm resulting in death, robbery or drug trafficking.
The novelty is that it is possible to prosecute children aged 12 to 13, but with the approval of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office. Children under the age of 12 are not subject to criminal liability.
"It reflects the current situation where the maturation of minors in China, together with the rise in living standards and education, is generally developing earlier," writes law professor Chen Zhijun of the Public Security University of China.
"Unevennesses between regions and between individuals in the development of perceptual and control abilities in juveniles can thus be taken into account." The cognitive abilities of children today are no longer the same as they were a few decades ago, according to lawmakers.
"However, some Chinese legal experts criticized at the time that prioritizing prison sentences for juveniles over preventive approaches such as 'education and correction'," says Teresa Bergman, Asia expert at Amnesty International in Germany, "and because it runs counter to general legal trends in China, including the abolition of some administrative detention systems."
Although the age limit for administrative offenses was also lowered to 14 years old by changes in the law last year, as stated by Bergman, there is a possibility of mitigating the punishments, as well as the provision that administrative detention for minors aged 14 to 16 years "is not carried out".
"Our concerns regarding the criminal law are numerous. We are particularly critical of the unclear definitions, the lack of clear legal supervision and the fact that in practice it is almost impossible to implement a legal remedy," says the Amnesty International expert.
Political verdict with signals
The Yunnan court sent a signal with this verdict and thus fulfilled the task that politics had set for it. The victim's family, however, believes that the sentence is too lenient and has announced an appeal. Although they have waived compensation, they are still demanding the death penalty.
"We hope that the perpetrator will pay with his life for the life of our daughter," the victim's father told local media, demanding "immediate execution."
The family's lawyer, Zhou Zhaocheng, justifies this request: "Behind the waiver of any material compensation and the insistence on a harsher punishment is the ultimate desperation for the loss of a daughter," the lawyer said.
"Since the verdict does not rule out the possibility of parole for good behavior, the life sentence does not necessarily have to be carried out to the end," says German professor Gesk.
"The judgment, despite its objectively severe punishment, represents a balancing act between four poles: the social need for revenge (the demand for retribution by the victims), the state's interest in general prevention, the immaturity of the offender, and the legally open possibilities of resocialization."
However, under Chinese criminal law, minors cannot be sentenced to death, nor can they be sentenced to death with a stay of execution. The death penalty with a delay in execution is never carried out in practice. The appeal of the victim's family is therefore without a chance of success from a legal point of view.
The death penalty still has supporters in China
However, this request shows that the death penalty is still deeply rooted in the consciousness of the Chinese public. Families of murder victims believe that only when the perpetrator is arrested, convicted and executed can they find inner peace.
There is a popular saying - "life for life", a version of the biblical "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". In other words: whoever kills must be punished by death.
"It has historical, cultural and social roots," says expert Bergman. "Throughout the centuries, tradition has placed great importance on retribution and deterrence for violent crimes. Such understandings continue to shape public opinion today."
How the Chinese public as a whole today views the death penalty remains largely unknown. That topic is considered taboo, and data on executed death sentences is a state secret. State media only occasionally report on executions.
However, support for the death penalty seems to have strengthened further. "On the one hand, the authorities have long presented the application of the death penalty as a deterrent that contributes to 'social stability' and the fight against crime. On the other hand, due to the limitations of civil society and independent media, there is very limited space for public debate on alternative models of justice," says Bergman.
International human rights organizations are calling on China to abolish the death penalty. However, there is currently no indication of a public debate on whether the state has the right to take a life ex officio.
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