Play a Tug of War with the Punitive State: The Role of Capital Defenders in China

• In Event: Capital Punishment and Its Diversion in Chinese and Global Perspective

Abstract

This research focuses on the vital role of defense counsel in China’s adjudication proceedings. To a certain extent, the kind and quality of legal representation have a substantial impact on the life-or-death outcome of the capital proceedings. The research uses a mixed-method approach. It analyses hundreds of court decisions and also adopted interviews with capital defense lawyers who are involved in various stages of capital proceedings, including the final stage of review. The project illuminates an area which has been under-researched and undertheorized in the existing scholarship.

Author

• Michelle Miao, The Chinese University of Hong Kong