Nation aims to undo, prevent, wrongful convictions

Reintegration

Yang Zhu is proud of his client Qian Renfeng. He believes the 34-year-old from Yunnan province lives a stable life and has overcome the difficulties of reintegrating into society.

In December 2015, Qian's flawed conviction for poisoning children was overturned after she had served 13 years in prison.

"Unlike ordinary inmates who require more education and treatment after being released, for people like Qian it is more like a process of rebirth," Yang said.

He added that China has no policies designed to help people reintegrate effectively into society.

"They have to rely on sympathetic businesses or individuals who provide job opportunities," he said.

Yang highlighted the importance of holding to account those responsible for imprisoning the innocent, which would be key to reducing the number of wrongful convictions.

"The task is difficult to push forward, but it shouldn't stop defendants, lawyers and media from paying attention to it," he said.

After being released, Qian had mixed feelings when she moved to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, for work.

"At first, I was afraid of strangers and strange things because I knew very little," she said, adding that she was just 17 when she was convicted.

Now, she works as a dormitory manager, and has become familiar with computers and smartphones, which were developed during her time in prison.

Although she doesn't mind talking about her wrongful conviction, she never mentions the subject first, and doesn't want to disturb old friends who lost contact when she was detained.

"I often think about the good old days," she said, adding that what she most needs is good advice relating to life and work.

With that in mind, she will marry a man she met through her work after Spring Festival. "Earning more money may be the most practical thing in the New Year," she said.

During Qian's retrial, the prosecutors found that the signatures on her alleged confession were similar to the handwriting of the police officers who handled the case.

Apologies and apathy

According to the court that cleared Zhou Yuan last year, although there was no sign that his confession has been obtained by torture, there was a possibility that he had been forced or tricked into making it. Moreover, there was no other evidence to back up the prosecution case.

"Many wrongful convictions happened in the 1980s and '90s when China was in transition and the crime rate was relatively high. Legal bodies were under enormous pressure from the public," said Wang Jinxi, a professor who specializes in forensic science at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.

"Also, there were not enough regulations governing evidence gathering, which made it difficult to eliminate illegal evidence."

As China's legal system improves and the number of lawyers rises, greater emphasis is being placed on trial procedures, which will significantly reduce the number of wrongful convictions, he added.

While welcome, the developments have come too late for Zhou. "Maybe I would not lose 15 years of my life if the case were handled today," he said.

Shortly after his conviction was overturned, the Yining public security bureau launched an internal investigation into his case. Zhou is also aware that the bureau and the Xinjiang High People's Court are prepared to officially apologize to him.

He isn't interested, though: "I don't really care about apologies, they won't help me to start a family or set up a cattle farm. I need to look forward."