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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Death sentenced suspended to life in prison |
Years Imprisoned: |
25.25 |
Year Crime: |
1990 |
Year Convicted: |
1994 |
Year Cleared: |
2018 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
China |
County or Region of Crime: |
Jilin |
City of Crime: |
Liaoyuan |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Liu Zhonglin was wrongly convicted in July 1994 of intentional homicide in the death of 18-year-old Zheng Dianrong in October 1990 in Huimin village in Dongliao county, Jilin Province, China. Dianrong's body was found in a river near the village. Zhonglin was arrested in 1990 and jailed for four years awaiting trial. After his conviction Zhonglin was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. Under Chinese Criminal Law, the prison sentence is reduced to 25 years for a person given a suspended death sentence, if they do not commit any new offense and perform well during their two-year probation (reprieve). Zhonglin was released from prison in 2015 after serving 25-1/4 years -- 9,217 days -- in custody. In March 2012 Zhonglin's petition for a retrial was accepted by the Jilin High People's Court. His retrial did not begin until April 2016. Zhonglin's was acquitted in April 2018 after a retrial based on insufficient evidence presented by the prosecution during his 1994 trial. In May 2018 Zhonglin submitted a claim for 16.6 million yuan in state compensation that included 7.87 million yuan for loss of personal freedom and 8 million yuan for mental anguish. On January 7, 2019 Zhonglin was awarded state compensation of 4.6 million yuan (US$672,000) that included a record 1.97 million yuan for “mental harm” caused and 2.6 million yuan for “loss of personal liberty.” Zhonglin, now 50, was granted the compensation by the Liaoyuan Intermediate People’s Court. It was the largest wrongful compensation award in China to that time. (Thepaper.cn)" |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
Zhonglin's was acquitted in April 2018 after a retrial based on insufficient evidence presented by the prosecution during his 1994 trial. |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"Yuan 4.6 million yuan (US$672,000) (Jilin Province, China, 1-7-2019)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
22 |
Age When Released: |
47 |
Sex: |
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Skin/Ethnicity: |
Chinese |
Information Source 1: |
"Court awards $672,000 for faulty imprisonment, By Cao Yin (reporter), China Daily, January 8, 2019" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201901/08/WS5c33eafaa31068606745f5f2.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Chinese man gets US$670,000 payout after he was wrongfully jailed for 25 years, By Laurie Chen (reporter), South China Morning Post, January 7, 2019" |
Information Location 2: |
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2181063/chinese-man-gets-us670000-payout-after-he-was-wrongfully-jailed |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org