Justice delivered too late for some

Wrongful convictions can take many years to investigate, overturn

Progress in human rights can take time. Sometimes, it takes too long.

It took many years of desperate appeals and agonized waiting for the parents of Hugjiltu to clear their son's name after he was convicted and executed 18 years ago for crimes he had not committed.

Hugjiltu, from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, was convicted of a rape and murder in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia's capital city, in 1996.

The case triggered controversy and resulted in further investigation by judicial officers after Zhao Zhihong, who was arrested in 2005 on other offenses, confessed he was the culprit in the crimes for which Hugjiltu was convicted.

However, it took many years before the justice authorities decided in 2014 to retry Hugjiltu and Zhao. Hugjiltu was declared innocent on Dec 15; the trial of Zhao is continuing in the Hohhot Intermediate People's Court.

More fortunate than Hugjiltu's parents, who are both in their 60s, is Nian Jianlan, who can again hug her younger brother, Nian Bin, after he was acquitted on Aug 22. Nian Bin was jailed for years in Fujian province after being wrongly convicted of poisoning his neighbors and causing the deaths of two children in 2006.

His conviction was overturned after his sister appealed for many years, and he was declared innocent in August.

Over the last year, China has quickened its progress in investigations and retrials of suspected wrongful convictions.

Legal experts say the progress has been noticeable since Xi Jinping became China's new leader at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in November 2012.

Since then, according to People's Daily, at least 23 wrongful convictions have been overturned, mostly because of insufficient evidence.

The acceleration in judicial corrections has stirred heated discussions among judicial specialists, many of whom see it as progress in protecting human rights and improving judicial credibility.

Yang Weidong, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, said such progress can be attributed to the Third and Fourth plenums of the 18th CPC Central Committee, which provided a better legal environment for the country.

"The two key plenums set a 'justice tone' for residents and highlighted the rule of law across the nation," Yang said. "I'm glad to see our judicial officers correct wrongful cases in legal ways instead of taking that only as a slogan. It's also progress and shows our determination to protect human rights."

Some legal procedures in current Chinese law, including retrials and the rectification of wrongful convictions, can contribute to improving judicial credibility, "which we need to make full use of", he said.

Ying Songnian, a law professor at China University of Political Science and Law, suggested judicial workers learn a lesson from the righted cases.

The increasing efficiency in overturning wrongful cases is also due to litigants' long-term persistence, he said, adding that those who interfere with investigations and judgments must be held responsible.

Gongsun Xue, a criminal lawyer, agreed that the improvement in wrongful convictions being overturned is an embodiment of the public's increasing legal awareness.

However, Gongsun said, how much human rights protection a wrongly jailed person gets depends on the punishment of those who intentionally failed in their duties.

The increase in rectifying wrongful convictions has helped speed up some other controversial cases and brought some hope to the families involved, including the mother of Nie Shubin.

Nie, 21, from Hebei province, was executed for allegedly raping and killing a woman in 1995, but when Wang Shujin, 46, confessed to the murder 10 years later, Nie's case gained public attention.

The Supreme People's Court has now sent the case to a court in Shandong province, asking it to reinvestigate.

"These moves should be approved, but we cannot only correct. It's more important to clarify what reasons cause these judicial mistakes and how to effectively discover the error's root, to avoid similar tragedies and enhance prevention," Gonsun added.