The Defendant/Exoneree
Zhang Yuhuan (张玉环) was born on September 18, 1967; he was 26 years old when incarcerated and 53 years old when he was acquitted.
Facts
On October 24, 1993, Zhang Zhenrong (Rong, six years old) and Zhang Zhenwei (Wei, four years old) were found drowned in a reservoir in Zhangjia Village in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. The police's autopsy report showed that they had been dumped into the reservoir after death. Rong was strangled by a noose and died of asphyxiation due to chin compression in the front of the neck, and Wei died of asphyxiation due to strangulation. The police found a sack in the reservoir and determined that it was a homicide committed by an acquaintance of the victims. The police locked down the entire village to take depositions from everyone.
According to some fellow villagers, Zhang Yuhuan (ZYH) had a few dried bloody scratches on his back and his left hand; and he behaved abnormally the night before the victims’ bodies were found — that is, he went alone to a sunning ground to dry his grain while it was raining. ZYH said that he had planned to leave the village to work in another city the next day and wanted to dry the grain before his departure. So, he covered the grain with a layer of plastic sheet and stayed there to keep thieves away. Some villagers also reported that the victims once had poured salt and soy sauce into ZYH’s drinking water tank. After conducting a house-to-house check of all 61 households in the village, the police identified ZYH as a suspect. According to the police report, when questioned by the police, ZYH looked nervous and kept rubbing his hands, and was unable to explain the scratches on his hand.
On October 27, 1993, the police took ZYH to their station for interrogation on suspicion of killing the children in revenge for their prank. During the interrogation, ZYH made two different confessions. According to one of the false confessions, the police extracted jute fibers from the sack that were found to be the same type of fiber as ZYH’s working clothes. But the police didn’t conduct forensic examinations of the sack or ZYH’s working clothes.
Procedural History
On October 27, 1993, ZYH was placed under sheltering for investigation, a form of detention.
On December 29, 1993, ZYH was formally arrested.
On January 5, 1994, ZYH was indicted for intentional murder.
On January 26, 1995, the Nanchang Intermediate People's Court (Intermediate Court) convicted ZYH of intentional murder and sentenced him to death with a two-year reprieve.
Upon ZYH’s appeal, on March 30, 1995, the Jiangxi High People's Court (High Court) revoked the conviction and remanded the case to the Intermediate Court for retrial.
On November 7, 2001, the Intermediate Court again convicted ZYH of intentional murder and sentenced him to death with a two-year reprieve.
Upon ZYH’s second appeal, on November 28, 2001, the High Court sustained the Intermediate Court’s conviction. ZYH was sent to prison.
Date of the Conviction
January 26, 1995
Date the Wrongful Conviction Was Vacated/Reversed
August 4, 2020
Days incarcerated
9,778 days
Why Was the Case Reopened
ZYH and his family kept petitioning for his innocence through the years. They submitted hundreds of petition letters to various authorities.
Zhang Youlin (“ZYL”), a local doctor, helped to connect ZYH and his family with media reporters, who later introduced them to volunteer lawyers. Through a group of reporters, ZYL promoted ZHY’s innocence and attracted the public’s attention.
Volunteer lawyers Wang Fei (Wang) and Shang Manqing represented ZYH. In addition, ZYH’s family members also retained six lawyers. Wang went to the crime scene and ZYH’s village for a thorough investigation and found illegality in the original police investigation. In May 2018, Wang submitted his findings and opinions to the High Court.
The High Court decided to accept the case for review in June 2018. In March 2019, it decided to ordered a retrial.
Factors Contributing to the Wrongful Conviction
False Confession
ZYH confessed only after being severely tortured for six days and nights during police interrogation. According to ZYH, police beat, kicked, and electric-shocked him and threatened him that if he did not confess, his wife also would be detained. The police also released a police dog to bite ZYH, including his genitals. ZYH was forced to confess, resulting in two different statements that contradicted each other with respect to the crime scene location, circumstances, tools, places where the bodies were hidden, how the bodies were dumped, and tools used to hide the bodies.
Problematic Forensic Evidence
The police found a sack from the reservoir and extracted jute fibers, which were found to be the same type of fiber as ZYH’s working clothes. Following ZYH’s confessions, the police found a hemp rope in his house. Without any forensic evidence, the police concluded that ZYH used the rope to strangle one of the victims and used the sack to transfer the victims’ bodies. The police also concluded that the scars on ZYH’s hand were caused by the victims scratching him. The police did not conduct any tests on the sack, the rope, or the victims’ nails.
Investigators’ Errors
The head of the village had informed the police that a stranger was seen wandering in the village the day the victims disappeared. He also reported three other potential suspects. But the police did not pursue these leads. Instead, they focused on ZYH despite indications during their first interaction with him that he was likely not the suspect.
Defense Lawyer's Errors / Absence
From ZYH’s first trial in 1995 to his final conviction in 2001, he was not represented by a lawyer. The Criminal Procedure Law at the time required that defendants who may be subject to the death penalty and who have not retained lawyers shall have lawyers appointed by the court.
Court's Errors
The judgment stated that the crime was committed around 11 a.m. But a witness’ statement indicated that she saw the victims walking toward the reservoir that afternoon. The contradiction in the evidence was completely ignored.
Other Developments
The Ministry of Public Security launched Strike Hard Campaigns in 1983 and 1996. While the case was pending, the rule of conviction was “the two basics,” meaning that a defendant can be convicted as long as the basic facts are clear and the basic evidence is verified. In practice, this amounted to lowering the standard of proof.
On September 2, 2020, ZYH filed a claim with the High Court for state compensation of RMB 22.34 million. This case was settled for RMB 4.96 million.
On March 17, 1996, sheltering for investigation, an administrative compulsory measure that was equivalent to criminal detention, was abolished.