As I understand it, the “deferred death penalty” like this is more like a very stern warning paired with other penalties, and gets used for corruption cases that didn’t actively kill people. So, say, a factory owner that negligently cut corners and ignored safety standards that subsequently killed workers or poisoned consumers would just get executed, while someone taking bribes without lethal consequences just gets prison time and a “no seriously be on your best behavior and don’t even hint that you’ll ever do crimes again” warning.