Mentally Ill Man Executed In China

Professor Deborah Denno on PalTalk News Network, December 29, 2009

Akmal Shaikh, the British citizen who was convicted of smuggling narcotics into China, was executed today, over the objections of family, friends and the British government.

Shaikh was suffering from mental illness and should not - the British government argued - have been put to death.

Fordham law professor Deborah Denno is unsurprised that China went ahead with the execution despite the public plea from the British government.

"The execution of Akmal Shaikh is yet another instance of China's extreme stance on the death penalty as well as the country's isolation and secrecy on how the punishment is carried out," Denno, an expert on death penalty and lethal injection, said.

"China does not appear to be sufficiently concerned about how this execution will be viewed internationally although how other countries (such as England) respond could possibly affect how China handles such matters in the future."