On June 23, Li Yan’s brother received a phone call, informing him that the Supreme People’s Court finally decided not to approve the death penalty in his sister’s case. The case is being sent back to Sichuan for a retrial. His brother thanks everyone for all they did to save his sister.
Li Yan, a laid off worker from Sichuan, had endured unbearable domestic violence which led to her killing her husband. She was sentenced to death for intentional homicide. In January of 2013, the death penalty sentenced had been approved and her life was at stake. People from all over the world sprung to action to save Li. Women’s rights figures in particular did a lot of work to support this cause. In March 2013, the Supreme People’s Court was still in the process of reviewing the death sentence. Finally, on June 23 of this year, the news came that the death penalty had not been approved.
