China retrial for woman who killed abusive partner

China’s highest court overturned a death sentence and ordered a retrial for a woman who killed and dismembered her abusive husband, a ruling welcomed by advocates of the country’s often-silent victims of domestic violence.

The woman’s attorney, Guo Jianmei, said she received confirmation from the Supreme People’s Court, the country’s highest court, about its ruling in the case of Li Yan, who had been sentenced to death in 2011 for killing her husband.

Li has become a rallying point for activists against domestic abuse in China, where police and courts commonly turn a blind eye to victims of domestic violence.