Xiao Yang calls for courts to resist media pressure for heavy sentences

Here's an interesting report from Chinalawinfo.com. Supreme People's Court president Xiao Yang recently gave a speech in which he stated that while nobody should be given lighter sentences than warranted because of special privileges, neither should courts impose heavier sentences than warranted because of media pressure, and it was incorrect to think that "the heavier the better" (跃重越好). Here's an opinion piece on this issue from the China Law Net (中国法制网).

For an excellent study of the relationship between courts and the media, see Benjamin Liebman's Watchdog or Demagogue? The Media in the Chinese Legal System, 105 Colum. L. Rev. 1 (2005).