Queens woman sentenced for fatally stabbing immigration lawyer

A Queens woman has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing an immigration lawyer who had dropped her as a client just days earlier, the Queens district attorney’s office said on Thursday.

Xiaoning Zhang, a 27-year-old Flushing resident, was found guilty last month of second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and harassment, in the death of Jim Li, a prominent civil rights activist known for his work during the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising in China, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

Li had taken Zhang on as a pro bono client and was representing her in an asylum case, officials said. He then dropped her after she admitted to lying on her application, according to prosecutors.

“A jury convicted Zhang and today a judge sentenced her to the maximum penalty under law,” said Katz. “It is our hope that with this sentencing, the family, loved ones and legal community can find some solace in knowing the defendant has been held accountable for her crimes.”