The decision to allow a hotel waitress from Hubei's Badong county who killed a local official to walk free was met with mixed feelings.
The trial of Deng Yujiao at the tightly guarded Badong County People's Court yesterday drew a crowd of several hundred people - largely volunteers - plus a few hand-picked reporters from official media outlets who were allowed to attend the hearing.
Deng was found guilty of intentionally causing bodily harm but allowed to go free after the court ruled she had acted in self-defence, had turned herself in to police and was 'suffering a certain level of mental disorder'.
A volunteer who identified himself as Mr Wu said he had been waiting outside with 200 people since 9am.
He said his group had been followed by police after arriving in Badong to show solidarity with Deng.
Mr Wu said he feared Deng would be given a prison term and the verdict was not too bad because at least she did not have to go to jail. 'But it's far from perfect because she didn't commit a crime,' said Mr Wu, who was ordered to leave Badong. Another group member said they planned to greet Deng by singing the national anthem, but she did not come out of the courtroom.
