Li Ruisheng

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Charge:	Animal endangerment
Sentence:	8 years
Years Imprisoned:	1.4
Year Crime:	2016
Year Convicted:	2016
Year Cleared:	2017
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	China
County or Region of Crime:	Liaoning
City of Crime:	Shenyang
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Li Rongqing and Li Ruisheng were cousins wrongly convicted on December 28, 2016 of animal endangerment in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. The cousins founded a circus in 2015 and rented animals from other companies to give performances around China. Their prosecutions were based on the allegation that in the course of operating their circus, from May 2016 to July 2016 they transported endangered animals that included a tiger, three lions, a black bear and a macaque from Suzhou, Anhui Province, to Shenyang without approval from government authorities. After their convictions in a district court in Shenyang, Li Rongqing was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and Li Ruisheng was sentenced to eight years in prison. They were also fined 100,000 yuan (about 15,000 USD) each. The two appealed in January 2017. While their appeal was pending modifications to China's Law on the Protection of Wildlife went into effect that transporting endangered animals that had been legally raised no longer requires permission from administrative authorities. The cousins were granted a retrial, which was held on December 6, 2017. The cousins argued that the animals they transported had all been legally raised, and therefore under the modified law their conduct wasn't criminal. They also argued that since their convictions weren't final that the law as modified applied to the conduct underlying those convictions. On December 8, 2017 the Intermediate People's Court in Shenyang overturned Li Rongqing and Li Ruisheng's convictions on the basis their conduct was legal under the modified law. The Court ordered their acquittals and their immediate release from prison. Li Rongqing told journalists after his acquittal that he is preparing to reopen his circus which has been closed since their arrest. He also said he plans to file for compensation from the state."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On December 8, 2017 the appeals court overturned Li Rongqing and Li Ruisheng's convictions on the basis their conduct was legal under the modified law. The Court ordered their acquittals and their immediate release from prison."
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Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
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Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Chinese
Information Source 1:	"Court overturns conviction of circus owners caught transporting endangered animals, Gu Liping (Editor), chinaplus.cri.cn, Dec. 10, 2017"
Information Location 1:	http://www.ecns.cn/2017/12-10/283852.shtml
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Li Ruisheng

Charge:

Animal endangerment

Sentence:

8 years

Years Imprisoned:

1.4

Year Crime:

2016

Year Convicted:

2016

Year Cleared:

2017

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

China

County or Region of Crime:

Liaoning

City of Crime:

Shenyang

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On December 8, 2017 the appeals court overturned Li Rongqing and Li Ruisheng's convictions on the basis their conduct was legal under the modified law. The Court ordered their acquittals and their immediate release from prison."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Chinese

Information Source 1:

"Court overturns conviction of circus owners caught transporting endangered animals, Gu Liping (Editor), chinaplus.cri.cn, Dec. 10, 2017"

Information Location 1:

http://www.ecns.cn/2017/12-10/283852.shtml

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