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Chinese judiciary overturns the death sentence and ordered a retrial for a woman convicted of killing and dismembering her abusive husband.
On Tuesday, Attorney Guo Jianmei verbally confirmed the Supreme People's Court's ruling on the case of Li Yan who has been sentenced to death in 2012.
Li's case brought about numerous horrifying accounts of three years of abuse she suffered from her husband, Tan Yong, who had physically, sexually and verbally abused her.
Reports say Li beat her husband to death with an air gun after he threatened to shoot her. After that, she cut up his body and boiled the body parts in an attempt to dispose of them.
Supporters say that Li should not have been sentenced to death because the police and the first two courts did not consider the abuse she has suffered from prior to the incident.
Though domestic violence is a problem in many parts of Asia, it is rather more disturbing in China because there has been a deep cultural belief that it is socially acceptable for husbands to hit their wives to discipline them.
This turn in the judiciary system in the country received positive feedback from the advocates of victims of domestic violence and was said to be a "significant and right course of action" in the bout against domestic violence in the country.
According to Guo, the decision "will have an exemplary effect" on similar future cases because it is the first case in the country to overturn capital punishment for killing a domestic abuser.
"Li's case shone a spotlight on the need for the Chinese authorities to do more to prevent violence against women," said William Nee, a China researcher at rights group Amnesty International.
Reports say that this decision made by China's Supreme Court effectively sets an example and provide proper guidance to lower courts that used to turn a blind eye to victims of domestic violence.
