Convicted police killer Yang Jia has lodged his own appeal against his death sentence, according to lawyers employed by his father, as his family continues last-ditch efforts for answers in the controversial case.
The 28-year-old Beijing native shocked the nation in July when he rampaged through Shanghai's Zhabei district police compound, fatally stabbing six police officers and leaving three others and one security officer seriously injured.
Yang's trial was originally scheduled to be heard in the Shanghai No2 Intermediate Court on July 29, but it was postponed without explanation until August 26, after the Olympic Games. Reporters were refused entry to the courtroom.
On September 1, court officers announced to a select group of state and Shanghai media and the victims' families that Yang had been found guilty on charges of premeditated murder. Yang or his family had until today to appeal.
Yang's father, Yang Fusheng, retained a team of Beijing lawyers, including outspoken rights lawyer Li Jingsong and his colleague Liu Xiaoyuan , who confirmed yesterday that they had been denied a chance to meet Yang Jia. The leading judge in the case, Wang Zhigang , said Yang lodged an appeal himself from his prison cell.
'We were worried about not being able to lodge an appeal from outside, but now Yang's own appeal buys us some time to find out the truth,' Mr Li said. 'Even if he does deserve the death sentence under the law, it should be a decision made justly and persuasively.'