Wang Wanqiong, The Story of Chen Man Returning Home, Tsinghua University Press, 2020.
The book “The Story of Chen Man Returning Home” is about a wrongfully convicted man, CHEN Man (陈满), who was exonerated 23 years after his murder-arson conviction was finalized. His defense lawyer, Wang Wanqiong, detailed his journey from his initial arrest to exoneration, covering various criminal justice procedures and the influence of Chen’s relatives, advocates, media, legal scholars, and the general public.
It took seven years for Chen Man’s case to reach a final judgment, and another 23 years to achieve an exoneration. Chen Man’s case unfolded during a period of rapid legal and institutional change in China. Many of the features of his case are similar to other wrongful conviction cases in China and elsewhere. Chinese language only.
This book is sold at Dangdang.com.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface: “I Want to go home”
Chapter 1 A Wrongful Conviction with Chinese Characteristics
Chapter 2 Why Wrongful Convictions Happen
Chapter 3 Fabrications in Case Files
Chapter 4 A Trial Lasted for 7 Years
Chapter 5 “You need to live long enough to get your case overturned”
Chapter 6 Social Forces in Exonerating
Chapter 7 An Exoneration with Chinese Characteristics
Chapter 8 State Compensation
Chapter 9 Chen Man Was Deceived
Chapter 10 The Lost Lamb: How Exonerees Return to Society
Conclusion: Everyone is a potential victim of wrongful convictions
THE AUTHOR
Wang Wanqiong is a lecturer at Panzhihua University, Sichuan, China and a part-time defense lawyer at Exceedon & Partners (Chengdu). She was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award in Criminal Defense by China Law Society Caselaw Research Institute for her excellent work in CHEN Man case in 2016. This case was reported in 2016 Work Report of Supreme People’s Court and was selected as one of the Top 10 Classic Innocence Defense Cases. She participated in USALI organized Wrongful Convictions Workshop in 2019.
On October 17, 2020 at 8:00 am (EST), an online book launch entitled “How far are we from wrongful convictions: A Revisit of the CHEN Man Case” was held. The author joined Professor Chen Yongsheng from Peking University Law School to talk about the challenges and achievements in pursuing exonerations and how to improve the system to prevent future wrongful convictions. Click here to watch the recording of this book launch.