Chinese prisoner allowed to meet wife before execution
( 2003-09-18 16:37) (Agencies)
Li Jun, who has been sentenced
to death, was on Wednesday allowed to meet with his wife in the meeting room of
the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court.
To allow prisoners facing imminent execution to meet with their family
members before the sentence is carried out is a new humanitarian measure
introduced by the Beijing judicial system.
According to the court, Li, 30, sold pork in a Beijing market for several
years. During that time, he often had arguments with a neighboring businessman
and finally killed the man out of accumulated resentment.
Li was arrested, charged, tried and sentenced to death.
He asked to see his wife once before being executed and the court approved
the request after careful consideration.
In the meeting room, a glass window separated Li and his wife. They talked
with each other over a telephone for about 20 minutes, and Li asked his wife to
take care of the family and herself. He also expressed deep appreciation to the
court for allowing his final wish.
Judge Zheng Weiyang said the fact that prisoners facing death sentences were
allowed to meet with family members showed that the human rights of prisoners
were respected in China.
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