[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 16



CHINA:

China gives gang leader death sentence for rapes


A Chinese court has sentenced to death the ringleader of a juvenile gang
responsible for the rape of more than 40 girls, the Xinhua news agency
said on Monday.

Guo Hongzhen received the sentence from the Bozhou Intermediate People's
Court in the eastern province of Anhui on Sunday, Xinhua said.

The court also handed down the death penalty with a two-year reprieve to 4
other gang members, life imprisonment to 5 and jail terms ranging from six
to 20 years to more than 30 others, the official news agency said.

The gang, whose members included more than 40 juveniles, raped middle
school students and other underage females in Woyang county between 2004
and 2006, either by force or by using drugs or alcohol, Xinhua said.

The youngest of the defendants was only 13 and the oldest was 20 when they
committed the crimes.

'The nature of their crimes was extremely vicious and the details were
utterly abominable,' Xinhua quoted the court as saying.

Xinhua did not say how old Guo was, but under Chinese law those who were
under 18 when they committed a crime cannot be sentenced to death.

The defendants will be able to appeal their sentences to a
provincial-level court. A death penalty with a 2-year reprieve is normally
commuted to life imprisonment on condition of good behaviour.

(source: Reuters)