Court's verdict will be based on evidence, not public opinion

JIANG GE, a 24-year-old Chinese student, was killed in the corridor outside the door of her apartment in Tokyo one year ago. She was reportedly attacked by a Chinese student surnamed Chen, while trying to defend his ex-girlfriend, Liu Xin. More than 1.5 million people have signed a petition supporting Jiang's mother who is seeking the death penalty in Chen's trial. The verdict is due to be delivered by a Japanese court on Dec 11. Thepaper.cn comments:

Although Jiang's case has caught wide attention on social media in China, partly because of the participation of some we media celebrities who have blamed Liu for refusing to comfort Jiang's mother over the past year, public anger against Chen and Liu and the people's sympathy for the victim's mother, who raised Jiang as a single parent, will not sway the court's decision, which will be based on the evidence presented.

And, even if Chen is found guilty, although the death penalty has not been cancelled in Japan, it involves a very strict and complicated procedure to deliver the death sentence, which is meted out only in some extremely grave cases. No one was sentenced to death in the country last year. And past experience suggests that if a guilty verdict is delivered, Chen is likely to be sentenced to 20 years in prison.