A book co-authored by the University of Macau’s (UM) Faculty of Law Distinguished Professor Liu Jianhong (aka Jianhong Liu) and Oklahoma State University Sociology Professor Liang Bin (aka Bin Liang) recently received the 2022 Distinguished Book Award from the Asian Criminological Society (ACS), the public tertiary education institution said in a statement last week.
According to the statement, ACS, which is among the most influential academic organisations in the criminology field worldwide, annually chooses one best book from those published on the topic of crime and justice in Asia to receive the “highly prestigious” award, with recipients chosen from a wide range of books submitted from around the world.
Titled “Chinese Netizens’ Opinions on Death Sentences: Empirical Examination” and published by the University of Michigan Press in 2021, the statement noted that the book has attracted “a lot of attention” in academia.
The statement noted that the Chinese mainland still maintains the death penalty system, but little empirical evidence has been published on public opinion regarding it. The statement pointed out that the book fills in this gap in the literature, adding that it examines the “diversity and rationales of netizens’ opinions” on the mainland’s criminal justice system, aiding in “understanding public attitudes toward death penalty in a complex social environment”.
Prof. Liu, the statement said, is the recipient of the American Society of Criminology International Division’s Freda Adler Distinguished Scholar Award in 2016 and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences’ Gerhard O.W. Mueller Award for Distinguished Contribution to International Criminal Justice in 2018.
Liu has held various positions in different international academic organisations, the statement said, and he has been the editor-in-chief of the Asian Journal of Criminology since 2009 as well as editor of Springer Series on Asian Criminology and Criminal Justice Research. The statement added that he has over 170 academic publications under his belt.
This undated handout photo recently provided by the University of Macau (UM) shows its Faculty of Law Distinguished Professor Liu Jianhong (aka Jianhong Liu).
