Legal lenience brings back 'dream life'

Self-defense

In June 2017, the Shandong High People's Court announced that Yu's actions constituted a form of self-defense, albeit excessive, and reduced his sentence to five years in prison.

Under China's Criminal Law, justifiable self-defense is not subject to criminal responsibility. However, if the action leads to serious injury or death, the perpetrator will be held criminally liable but treated leniently or even exempted from punishment.

The court's ruling noted that Yu and Su's dignity had been harmed by the debt collectors, whose insulting behavior was also censured and penalized. Despite the serious injuries and death Yu had caused, the judges decided to commute his sentence to a shorter prison term.

"The change of sentence was like riding a roller coaster, giving me hope out of despair," Yu said. "Life imprisonment sounded too long to see a way ahead, but five years was a specific period, which made me believe I could get through it."

The days behind the bars also taught him the importance of using his time wisely.

"After my release, I didn't spend much time digesting my emotions or thinking too much when I experienced difficulties finding a job or love because that would have been pointless," he said. "Being practical and devoting myself to concrete things was what I wanted to do and did do."