law - an overview of the death penalty debate

The New York Times gives an overview of yet another big debate that marked 2005: the death penalty in China. The fight is still going on and the outcome of the wish of many - less capital punishment - might still be far away.

The case of Wang Binyu lacked the moral clarity of an innocent man wrongly convicted. He killed four people in a rampage after a final dispute over wages. But his saga of abuse and disdain from his bosses resonated deeply with a public disgusted with corruption and inequality and resentful of a legal system perceived as favoring the wealthy and well connected.

"Wang was forced to fight against those who exploit and tread on the poor," one person wrote at a Chinese Web site. "Why is the law always tough on the poor?"

It is a powerful argument indeed, but with many equally powerful opponents at provincial and local level, who do not want their hold on power see eroded by giving up this powerful tool, even if many innocent people are being executed.