Executed man found not guilty

Evidence insufficient, unclear in 1990s Nie case, top court says

Nie Xuesheng, the father, and Nie Shuhui, the elder sister of Nie Shubin, burst into tears at home in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, after hearing the top court's verdict. XIE KUANGSHI/CHINA DAILY

Justice finally came, though it was 21 years too late.

Nie Shubin, a young man executed in 1995 after being found guilty in a rape and murder case, was declared not guilty by the top court on Friday.

The Supreme People's Court said in its verdict that facts and evidence in Nie's case, which has drawn huge public attention, were unclear and insufficient, so "he should be announced innocent".

It added that the judgment was made in accordance with a basic principle in the Criminal Law: No punishment shall be given in doubtful cases.

"I'm satisfied with the result. I've been expecting today for a long time," said Zhang Huanzhi, Nie's mother, with trembling voice and in tears.

She spent more than two decades trying to clear her son's name.

She heard the announcement at the Second Circuit Court, one of the arms of the Supreme People's Court, in Shenyang, Liaoning province, on Friday morning.

Zhang was also informed in court that she can apply for State compensation within two years. "I'll discuss (the compensation) with my husband," she said.

Xia Daohu, one of the judges for the case, confirmed that the compensation application process had begun. But he did not say how much money a litigant can receive in such a case.

"The compensation will be provided in accordance with the State Compensation Law, and the final amount will consider how many days Nie had been wrongfully detained, as well as the mental damage," Xia said.

Xia also said an accountability investigation of police and judicial officers who were involved has started, but did not elaborate.

Li Shuting, the family's lawyer, said: "Rights of lawyers, including reading legal materials and sharing opinions with the court, were well protected. I'm also happy to end my work with such a result."

Nie, a worker in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, was sentenced to death and executed in 1995 in the rape and murder of a woman the year before. He was 21 when he was executed.

The case first came to the public's attention in 2005, when Wang Shujin was detained for rape and murder in other cases. Wang confessed that he was the actual culprit in Nie's case.

Since then, Nie's case had been reinvestigated. His name is well-known across the country, and any development of the reinvestigation made headlines.

His case has been handled by Hebei Provincial High People's Court and Shandong Provincial High People's Court. Both courts failed to give a final verdict.