A man who was wrongfully jailed 21 years ago for intentional homicide and arson in South China's Hainan Province was acquitted of his crime and released from prison on Monday.
The High People's Court of Zhejiang Province, which was tasked with the mission of reviewing the case, said on Monday the charges against Chen Man, 53, cannot be upheld given insufficient evidence in the case.
Wang Wanqiong, Chen's attorney, said Chen had served the longest jail term for a wrongful conviction known in China.
Chen was sentenced to death with two year reprieve in November 1994 for "killing a man and setting his house on fire to cover up the crime."
Chen told the Global Times in a Monday phone interview that he was thrilled and that he planned to start a business online.
"I am eager to start a new life and take good care of my parents, who are in their 80s," Chen said in cheerful mood.
His attorney told the Global Times that Chen would apply for State compensation.
"The compensation would be around 3 million yuan ($456,000) based on Chen's mental and physical suffering," Wang said.
The Higher People's Court of Zhejiang reopened Chen's case in December 2015 under the instruction from the Supreme People's Court (SPC).
The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) also said in a statement on Monday that the original conviction, which ruled Chen guilty of intentional homicide and arson, is inconsistent with the existing evidence.
"I think the result of Chen's case inspires me and many other lawyers. It shows that the SPC and the SPP are actively addressing and rectifying the mistakes," Wang said.
"It also shows the progress made by China's judicial system in protecting suspects' rights and the effort made by China to reduce the number of wrongful convictions," said Wang.
