She Xianglin Murder Case (佘祥林故意杀人案)

The defendant/exoneree 

  • She Xianglin (佘祥林), born on March 7, 1966; he was twenty-eight when he became suspected in the case and was thirty-nine when he was finally acquitted.

Facts

  • In the beginning of 1994, She Xianglin’s wife Zhang Zaiyu disappeared. A few months later, a badly decomposed female body was found at a nearby reservoir. Zhang’s family identified the corpse as Zhang Zaiyu and suspected She killed Zhang because Zhang had a mental disorder. It was rumored that She was having an improper relationship with a young woman. About eleven years after She had been convicted of intentional murder of Zhang Zaiyu, Zhang reappeared alive in She’s village.

  • Other special facts about this case:

    • After She’s conviction, Zhang Zaiyu sent letters to her brother. But her brother did not disclose this until Zhang Zaiyu came back to the village in person.

    • When the female body was found, another family came to the police claiming that the victim was their family member.

Procedural history 

  • On April 12, 1994, She was put on residential surveillance. On April 22, 1994, She was criminally detained and six days later he was arrested.

  • She Xianglin was charged with intentional murder of his wife.  On Oct 13, 1994, She was originally convicted and sentenced to death by the Jingzhou Intermediate Court of Hubei Province.

  • On January 6, 1995, She’s appeal was heard and the Hubei High Court remanded the case for retrial on the ground of insufficient evidence and unclear facts.

  • During the first retrial, this case was twice returned to the local county procuratorate for supplementary investigation.

  • On November 23, 1997, when the local county procuratorate referred this case the third time to the city procuratorate and requested the latter to prosecute She at the intermediate court, the city procuratorate rejected the case on the ground that the alleged offense was not serious enough to be prosecuted in an intermediate court and referred the case back to the local county procuratorate to prosecute at a local district court.

  • On June 15, 1998, She was convicted by the Jingshan District Court for intentional murder and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.

  • On September 22, 1998, She’s appeal was denied by the Jingmen Intermediate Court and his conviction was affirmed.

  • On March 28, 2005, Zhang Zaiyu reappeared in She’s village.

  • On April 1, 2005, She was released from the prison by obtaining a guarantor.

  • On April 13, 2005, She was exonerated.

Date of the conviction

June 15, 1998

Date the wrongful conviction was reversed

April 13, 2005

Days incarcerated

3,995

Why was the case reopened/reversed 

She’s mother and brother petitioned for She since She was detained. Eleven years after She’s detention and conviction, the alleged victim reappeared in person.

Factors contributing to the wrongful conviction

False confession

  • She was physically and verbally abused by the police and gave four different confessions. He was interrogated for ten consecutive days, was beaten and lost part of a finger.

Flawed police investigation

  • Witnesses who testified that there was a stranger in their village who might be Zhang Zaiyu were detained for months for alleged perjury. Some defense witnesses were tortured and detained until they changed their testimony.

  • When the police learned of exculpatory evidence, they tried to suppress the evidence.

  • Police ignored the other family who claimed that the victim was actually their family member.

Dubious witness identification/statements

  • Zhang’s family did not see the victim’s body. Their identification was based on the police’s description about the height and the build of the victim. Zhang’s family identified the body despite the fact that the body did not have a scar on the stomach, which was one of the Zhang’s identifying features.

  • Witnesses changed their testimony after being detained and threatened by the police.

Problematic forensic evidence

  • No DNA evidence collected to identify the body.

  • No tools for the alleged crime were found.

Prosecutorial errors

  • Prosecutors acquiesced to the Political-Legal Committee’s decision, knowing it was not supported by evidence.

  • Prosecutors did not explain the conflicting evidence during the prosecution.

Defense lawyer's errors/absence

  • None. She was represented by a lawyer who maintained She’s innocence.

Court's errors

  • Acquiesced to the Political-Legal Committee’s not-evidence-based decision.

  • Ignored the unexplainable doubts in this case. For example, the missing stones, bags, and ropes allegedly used by She during the act; whether She was capable of taking the alleged route of killing the victim at one place and hauling the body to dump it, by himself, at another place; and why She’s confessions yielded four different versions of the story.

Other developments

  • During She’s appeal, Zhang’s family organized 220 villagers to petition the appellate court (Hubei Provincial High Court) to pressure the court to reject She’s appeal.

  • One of the police officers in She’s case was charged with torturing She and committed suicide.

  • In September 2005, She received about RMB700,000 from the state in compensation.

Information sources