Shenyang hawker hoped for justice ahead of execution for double killing
Shenyang snack seller, executed yesterday for killing two urban management officers who beat him, clung to belief he would be vindicated
A street hawker who was executed yesterday for stabbing two urban management officers to death in 2009 after they beat him was still hoping for vindication during his last hours, according to his wife.
The Shenyang City Intermediate People's Court said on its microblog that Xia Junfeng was executed on the charge of "intentional homicide" after it was endorsed by the Supreme People's Court.
The hawker's wife, Zhang Jing, told the South China Morning Post yesterday that Xia was still hoping for vindication during his last hours. She said he appeared calm during their half-hour meeting shortly before his execution, and he insisted he had acted in self-defence.
"As long as there is still one person back at my home, tell them not to give up appealing for me," Xia said in his last words to his wife.
"He told me that he won't accept it even if he died," Zhang said.
Zhang said her family was shocked and devastated by the execution because the Supreme Court had promised to look into the case seriously when they applied for a review of the death sentence two years ago.