Public Security Bureau Compensates She Xianglin for Wrongful Imprisonment

November 29, 2005

The Public Security Bureau (PSB) in Jingshan county, Hubei province, agreed on October 27 to pay 450,000 renminbi ($55,500) to She Xianglin's family as compensation for his wrongful imprisonment, according to an October 28 report from the official Xinhua news agency. Most of that amount will go toward compensating Mr. She for physical and emotional damages he suffered during 11 years in prison. The rest provides compensation for false imprisonment and emotional damages suffered by Mr. She's mother and elder brother as they attempted to appeal to authorities over his unjust treatment.

The Public Security Bureau (PSB) in Jingshan county, Hubei province, agreed on October 27 to pay 450,000 renminbi ($55,500) to She Xianglin's family as compensation for his wrongful imprisonment, according to an October 28 report from the official Xinhua news agency. Most of that amount will go toward compensating Mr. She for physical and emotional damages he suffered during 11 years in prison. The rest provides compensation for false imprisonment and emotional damages suffered by Mr. She's mother and elder brother as they attempted to appeal to authorities over his unjust treatment.

A local court convicted Mr. She and sentenced him to death for the alleged murder of his wife in 1994, later commuting the sentence to 15 years' imprisonment after a re-trial. In late March 2005, Mr. She's wife unexpectedly returned to their Hubei village, triggering a re-evaluation of his case and investigations into official malfeasance. On April 13, the court held a public re-trial and formally exonerated Mr. She of the murder conviction. According to reports by the Legal Daily and Xinhua, the intermediate people's court that rejected Mr. She's appeal and upheld the original conviction agreed on August 31 to pay him 260,000 renminbi in compensation, based on a standard measure of lost wages over the 11-year period he spent in prison. The local city government has also agreed to provide him with a 200,000 renminbi hardship subsidy for his re-integration into society.

In a September 4 interview with the Shanghai Morning Post, Vice President Tang Chongde of the Jingshan People's Court blamed Mr. She's wrongful conviction on a presumption of guilt during the criminal process. Public security officials maintained that he had confessed to the crime, but the Shanghai Morning Post mentioned that numerous reports indicated Mr. She was tortured during the interrogation phase. Public pressure and neglect on the part of investigative personnel also contributed to the wrongful conviction, according to Tang and other officials. Now that the parties have settled on compensation issues, one representative of the Jingshan People's Court believes that the focus on Mr. She's case will move onto questions of culpability for official misconduct.

In the wake of the She Xianglin case and other wrongful convictions reported by Chinese media in March, April, June, and September, the Supreme People's Procuratorate has promised to focus on eliminating the problems of torture and coerced confessions. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture will visit China from November 21 to December 2, to further investigate issues of torture while in government custody. Xinhua's October 28 report on state compensation for Mr. She's wrongful imprisonment also comes in the midst of major revisions to the Criminal Procedure Law and developments in reforming the death penalty review process.

Additional information on the She Xianglin case, the increased scrutiny in 2005 of China's criminal justice system, and the problems of torture and abuse while in custody is available in the 2005 CECC Annual Report, Section III(b).