China Court Reverses Death Penalty Verdict, 18 Years Too Late How does a legal system atone for wrongly executing an 18-year-old?
That was the question ricocheting through Chinese social media Monday after the Inner Mongolia High People’s Court apologized to the parents of Huugjilt, an ethnic Mongolian man who was executed almost two decades ago for a murder he didn’t commit.
The answer, according to many: Not like this.
Huugjilt was put to death in 1996, months after being convicted of raping and murdering a woman in a public toilet in the Inner Mongolia capital of Hohot. He confessed to the crime following 48 hours of interrogation, but later proclaimed his innocence, according to media reports. Nine years later, another man confessed to the crime.
On Monday, the court officially ruled Huugjilt innocent, and the deputy head of the court issued a “sincere apology” to his parents, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The head of the court made a personal donation of 30,000 yuan ($4,800) to the family in compensation, Xinhua said.
The family of Huugilt, who like many ethnic Mongolians goes by only one name, issued a series of short messages on Weibo celebrating the decision and thanking supporters. Other Weibo users were less positive.
“Thirty thousand? 30 thousand? Are you kidding me?” wrote one user, who identified himself as an airline worker from Inner Mongolia.
“What use is ‘sorry’ and 30,000 in compensation?” asked another. “After law and justice are casually trampled, how can you be so pompous?”
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/12/15/china-court-reverses-death-penalty-verdict-18-years-too-lateHow many are there in the US ?
