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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder and Rape |
Sentence: |
Death and Executed |
Years Imprisoned: |
0.58 |
Year Crime: |
1994 |
Year Convicted: |
1995 |
Year Cleared: |
2016 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
China |
County or Region of Crime: |
Hebei province |
City of Crime: |
Shijiazhuang |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Posthumously |
Summary of Case: |
"Nie Shubin was wrongly convicted on March 15, 1995 of the intentional rape and murder of a young woman who was reported missing on August 10, 1994 in Shijiazhuang, in China's Hebei province. Shubin's prosecution was primarily based on his confession after intense police interrogation, which he later recanted as coerced. After his conviction Shubin was sentenced to death. Shubin appealed. His conviction and death sentence were affirmed on April 25, 1995 by the Higher People's Court of Hebei Province. Shubin was 21 when two days after the appeals court's ruling, he was executed on April 27, 1995. Ten years later, on January 17, 2005 Wang Shujin confessed to several rapes and murders, including the crimes for which Shubin was convicted. In May 2007 Shubin's mother, father, and sister submitted a petition to the Hebei Provincial HIgher People's Court that Shubin's innocence was proved by Shujin's confession, and requested his acquittal. On December 12, 2014 China's highest court, the Supreme People's Court, assigned Shandong Provincial People's High Court to review Shubin's case to determine if it should be reopened. The High Court determined there were significant doubts about Shubin's guilt. On June 6, 2016 the Supreme People's Court decided to retry Shubin. Shubin's retrial began on July 4, 2016 in the SPC's Second Circuit Court. A panel of judges reviewed all case documents, visited the crime scene, verified evidence and questioned former personnel who had handled the case. The Court also considered the opinion of the prosecution -- the Supreme People's Procuratorate -- that the evidence presented in Shubin's 1995 trial was insufficient to support his conviction. On December 2, 2016 the Supreme People's Court ordered Shubin's acquittal. The Court determined there was insufficient evidence to find him guilty. The Court ruled the time of the crime and instruments used to commit the crime could not be confirmed; the cause of the victim's death could not be confirmed, her time of death could not be confirmed; key case documents, including some records of the questioning of Nie and witnesses had been lost; and the truth and legitimacy of Nie's confession were questionable because it was obtained through torture. On December 14, 2016 Shubin's parents requested posthumous compensation of 13,910,000 yuan (about US$2 million) for death indemnity, funeral expense compensation, personal freedom compensation, and emotional distress compensation. In March 2017 the Higher People’s Court in Hebei Province awarded Shubin's parents total compensation of 2.686 million yuan (US$388,286): 1.3 million yuan ($188,630) for "emotional damage" caused to the parents; 1.26 million yuan ($182,825) for Shubin's wrongful death and burial cost; 52,000 yuan ($7,545) for infringement of personal freedom; and, 64,000 yuan ($9,286) as financial aid for Shubin's mother." |
Conviction Caused By: |
False confession coerced by police interrogation. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On December 2, 2016 the Supreme People's Court ordered Shubin's acquittal. The Court determined there was insufficient evidence to find him guilty. The Court ruled the time of the crime and instruments used to commit the crime could not be confirmed; the cause of the victim's death could not be confirmed, her time of death could not be confirmed; key case documents, including some records of the questioning of Nie and witnesses had been lost; and the truth and legitimacy of Nie's confession were questionable." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"2.686 million yuan (US$388,286) (Hebei Province, March 2017)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
20 |
Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Chinese |
Information Source 1: |
"False Conviction Highlights Legal Flaws in China, Ching-Ching Ni (LA Times), Seattle Times, April 9, 2005, p. A6" |
Information Location 1: |
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=chinarights09&date=20050409&query=ching-ching |
Information Source 2: |
"Executed man cleared of rape and murder, By Yuan Hui in Hohhot and Cao Yin, China Daily, December 16, 2014" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.chinadailyasia.com/nation/2014-12/16/content_15203551.html |
Information Source 3: |
"Wrongly executed man acquitted by top Chinese court, By Xinhua, xinhuanet.com, Dec. 2, 2016" |
Information Location 3: |
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-12/02/c_135876107.htm |
Information Source 4: |
"Parents of man found innocent 21 years after being executed receive 2.68 million yuan in compensation, By Alex Linder, Shanghaiist.com, March 31, 2017" |
Information Location 4: |
http://shanghaiist.com/2017/03/31/nie_shubin_compensation.php |
Information Source 5: |
"Parents of wrongly executed man ask for 13.9 million yuan in compensation, By Alex Linder, Shanghaiist.com, December 14, 2016" |
Information Location 5: |
http://shanghaiist.com/2016/12/14/nie_shubin_compensation.php |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org