China
16:33, 12-Apr-2018
Five men found innocent more than 20 years after their guilty convictions
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Five men from Woyang County in eastern China’s Anhui Province, were acquitted on Wednesday, after being convicted of murder 20 years ago.
The five men – Zhou Jikun, Zhou Zaichun, Zhou Jiahua, Zhou Zaihua, Zhou Zheng Guo – were found to be innocent by the High People's Court of Anhui, with the court stating that "the facts were unclear and the evidence was insufficient” in their cases.
The men were granted the verdict after years in prison, with one man serving 21 years.
Zhou Zaichun burst into tears after receiving the judgment. /Photo from The Beijing News
Zhou Zaichun burst into tears after receiving the judgment. /Photo from The Beijing News
The men were suspected of breaking into a fellow villager's home and attacking the family on the night of August 25, 1996, leading to one dead and four others injured, including three seriously wounded.
In 1998, the judicial committee found the contradictory statements and lack of evidence to be sufficient enough to find the men innocent. However, shortly after the decision, Zhou Jiding, whose family had been attacked, committed suicide by drinking a bottle of pesticide.
His suicide changed the course of the case, and led the court to decide that it needed to deliberate further.
The front door of Zhou Jiahua’s house in the village. /Photo from The Beijing News
The front door of Zhou Jiahua’s house in the village. /Photo from The Beijing News
In 1999, with no new evidence, the five men were tried in the Fuyang Intermediate People's Court and found guilty of murder. Two were given 15-year sentences, one was sentenced to life in jail, and another two were sentenced to death, who were later given a reprieve by the High People's Court of Anhui in 2000.
Zhou Jikun stood in front of his house in the village. /Photo from The Beijing News
Zhou Jikun stood in front of his house in the village. /Photo from The Beijing News
The men all served their sentences in the following 20 years, while maintaining their innocence and appealing for a retrial. Some completed their prison sentences, but none of the men gave up appealing for a retrial, even after being released. They even accused local police of extorting confessions by torture.
The five families received the retrial notice from the High People’s Court of Anhui in 2017. /Photo from ThePaper.cn
The five families received the retrial notice from the High People’s Court of Anhui in 2017. /Photo from ThePaper.cn
In 2014, after media reports, the High People’s Court of Anhui decided to grant the men a retrial. In a process that took almost four years, the judgments were finally reversed, clearing all five men of their original convictions.