The defendant/exoneree
Bai Chunrong (白春荣), born on December 17, 1955.
Facts
On October 27, 1988, Bai Chunrong bought some fabric at a cloth market in Nanhai County, Foshan City, Guangdong Province, and stored her goods at Store No.1. The next day, Bai went back to the same market where she met a person from her hometown village offering to sell her some extra fabric at a good bargaining price. Bai bought the fabric and stored it at Store No. 1. When Bai went to buy more fabric, she heard shouting and saw lots of people enter Store No.1 to see what was going on. She followed the crowd into the store and was detained by the security guards. The store owners reported that some of their fabric was stolen and Bai was arrested, tried and convicted of theft.
The store owners did not report the stolen fabric until they were notified by the police that some of their fabric was found in Store No.1.
Bai did not confess.
Procedural history
Bai was detained by the police on October 28, 1988, under the rubric of “sheltering for investigation.” On May 4, 1989, she was formally arrested.
On July 28, 1989, Bai was convicted of theft for stealing fabric and sentenced to eight years of imprisonment by the Nanhai County District Court of Foshan City, Guangdong Province. On March 28, 1990, the Foshan Intermediate Court affirmed the judgment upon Bai’s appeal.
On February 8, 1996, Bai was released after serving her full term in prison.
On March 20, 2014, Bai was exonerated by the Foshan Intermediate Court on the ground of insufficient evidence.
Date of the conviction
July 28, 1989
Date the wrongful conviction was reversed
March 20, 2014
Days incarcerated
2,659
Why was the case reopened/reversed
Bai had insisted on her innocence since the first day of her detention. She kept petitioning to re-open her case even after she finished her jail time.
In 2012, the Central Political-Legal Committee issued a guidance addressing wrongful conviction, which resulted in a nation-wide campaign to correct wrongful convictions.
Factors contributing to the wrongful conviction
Flawed police investigation
The police required Bai to provide receipts for all the fabric she stored at the Store No.1 to prove her innocence. But Bai could only provide one receipt for one bag of fabric. Bai informed them of her sources for the bags of fabric, but the police failed to verify them.
Dubious witness identification/statements
There was no witness description of the lost fabric before the witnesses were shown the found fabric. Even when one of the witnesses was in the Store No.1 helping Bai organize the fabric, he did not notice or recognize that his lost fabric was actually right in front of him until the security guard informed him later.
Defense lawyer's errors/absence
None. Bai was represented by counsel who defended her innocence.
Court's errors
Failed to insist the principle that when there is a doubt about a fact, the presumption should benefit the defendant.
Other developments
On September 4, 2014, Bai received RMB 650,000 of State compensation.