In late April, an unusual court trial in China's southwestern Yunnan province led to a landmark ruling, where a local court found a minor guilty of intentional homicide and rape, and sentenced him to life imprisonment.   

At the time of the crime, the defendant was 14 years old. It marked the first time such a severe sentence was handed down to a minor in China.

The court ruled there was enough proof to support the case that, in the summer of 2025, the defendant raped his then 15-year-old classmate on her way home from a party. To prevent the crime from being discovered, he then strangled her to death.

The judges determined that the offense was particularly heinous and imposed the maximum possible sentence. The defendant is said to have confessed.

However, the victim's family considers the sentence too lenient and plans to appeal.

"We still hope for the imposition of the death penalty so that the perpetrator pays for his victim's life with his own," the victim's father told the local press, calling for "immediate execution."

Zhou Zhaocheng, the lawyer representing the victim's family, said that the demand for the death penalty "stems from their profound despair over the loss of their daughter."

From a legal standpoint, any appeal by the victim's family demanding capital punishment seems doomed to fail. Minors can neither be sentenced to death nor be given even a suspended death sentence under Chinese law. But the case has sent shock waves across China and sparked a debate on youth, crime, and consequences.

Lowering the age of criminal responsibility

Reports on juvenile crime are rare in China. According to a report by the official Xinhua News Agency, juvenile offenders are primarily involved in sex crimes or online fraud.

In 2021, China's criminal code was amended, gradually lowering the age of criminal responsibility. Under the new code, adolescents aged 16 and older can now be held criminally responsible for breaking the law, while teenagers between the ages of 14 and 16 may be charged with various criminal offenses, including murder, rape, assault resulting in death, robbery, extortion, and drug trafficking.

"It takes into account the current situation in China, where the age of maturity for minors has generally been lowered as living standards and educational levels have risen," writes Chen Zhijun, a law professor at the People's Public Security University of China. "This allows for regional and individual disparities in the development of minors' cognitive and self-control abilities to be taken into account."

A new provision also permits criminal prosecution of children between the ages of 12 and 14, but requires the approval of the Office of the Attorney General. Only children under the age of 12 remain exempt from criminal liability.

As of 2024, the chief prosecutor's office in Beijing had recorded four criminal cases in which four defendants between the ages of 12 and 13 were convicted. The sentences ranged from 10 to 15 years in prison. Lawmakers believe that children's cognitive abilities today are not what they were decades ago, Chen added.

Yunnan verdict sends a signal

"However, other Chinese legal scholars criticized this approach at the time as misguided, arguing that even for minors, prison sentences were being prioritized over preventive measures such as 'education and correction,'" said Theresa Bergmann, Asia expert at Amnesty International in Germany, "not least because this contradicts general legal developments in China, such as the abolition of administrative detention systems."

Bergmann pointed out that the age of criminal responsibility for violations of administrative law had also been lowered to 14 as a result of last year's changes to the Administrative Penalties Act.

However, she noted, there is at least the possibility of a reduced sentence and a provision stating, for instance, that so-called administrative detention "shall not be enforced” in the case of minors aged 14 to 16.

"We have a number of concerns regarding the criminal code. We are particularly critical of its vague definitions, the lack of clear legal oversight, and the fact that it is practically impossible to seek legal redress," the expert said.

With its latest ruling, the court in Yunnan has sent a strong deterrent message, seemingly fulfilling the mandate set for it by policymakers.

Death penalty has its supporters in China

The Yunnan case underscores how the death penalty remains firmly entrenched in the minds of the Chinese public, where families of victims of homicide believe they can only find peace of mind once the perpetrator has been apprehended, convicted, and executed.

This idea is commonly expressed as yi ming chang yi ming or one life for another. In other words, whoever kills must be punished with death.

"This has historical, cultural, and social roots," said Bergmann. "For centuries, traditions have placed great emphasis on retribution and deterrence in cases of violent crime. These ideas continue to shape public opinion today."

The Chinese public's overall attitude toward the death penalty today remains largely unknown.

State media report on the subject only sporadically and statistics on executions are treated as state secrets. 

International human rightsorganizations have repeatedly urged China to abolish the death penalty, but there are currently no signs of any public debate over whether the state should have the authority to take a life.

"On the one hand, the authorities have long portrayed the use of the death penalty as a deterrent that contributes to 'social stability' and the fight against crime. On the other, due to restrictions on civil society and independent media, there is limited space for public debate on alternative models of justice such as 'restorative justice' or mechanisms for victim assistance," said Bergmann.

This article was originally written in German.