Dong Wei Intentional Homicide Case (Case of Reprieve at the Gunpoint)

In April 2001 in Yan'an, Shaanxi Province, Dong Wei got into an altercation with Cao Xiaoping at a dance hall. During the conflict, Dong stabbed Cao, resulting in Cao's death. Dong was convicted of intentional homicide and sentenced to death by the Yan'an Intermediate People's Court, a verdict upheld on appeal. The execution was scheduled for April 29, 2002. Just minutes before the execution, defense attorney Zhu Mingyong urgently contacted the Supreme People's Court, which issued a temporary suspension of execution order. The case underwent further review, but the Supreme People's Court ultimately upheld the death sentence, and Dong Wei was executed on September 5, 2002. The case attracted national attention and became known as the "Reprieve at the Gunpoint" case.

Dong Wei was sentenced to death for intentional homicide. After the temporary reprieve and subsequent review by the Supreme People's Court, the original death sentence was upheld, and he was executed on September 5, 2002.

Whether Dong Wei's actions constituted excessive self-defense rather than intentional homicide; whether the procedural irregularity of executing before final Supreme Court review could be corrected in time; and whether the broader application and review of the death penalty in China adhered to principles of judicial fairness and restraint.

The "Reprieve at the Gunpoint" case profoundly shocked China's legal community and the public, exposing serious procedural vulnerabilities in death penalty review mechanisms. It became a pivotal catalyst for judicial reform, directly contributing to the 2007 decision requiring the Supreme People's Court to reclaim exclusive authority over reviewing all death penalty sentences. The case intensified national discourse on the abolition or restriction of capital punishment, strengthened procedural rights for defendants in capital cases, and remains a seminal case in the study of Chinese criminal procedure and human rights protection.