Zhang Yuhuan (front, second from right), gathers with his family after spending almost 27 years in prison before having his conviction overturned on August 4. After multiple appeals, the Supreme People’s Court in Jiangxi province threw out Zhang’s conviction over lack of evidence. Photo: Weibo
Zhang Yuhuan (front, second from right), gathers with his family after spending almost 27 years in prison before having his conviction overturned on August 4. After multiple appeals, the Supreme People’s Court in Jiangxi province threw out Zhang’s conviction over lack of evidence. Photo: Weibo
Lijia Zhang
Opinion

Opinion

Lijia Zhang

Zhang Yuhuan case shows China’s need to prevent wrongful convictions

  • High-profile cases have revealed gaps in China’s legal system: coerced confessions, misidentification of bodies, conflicting statements and lack of evidence
  • Authorities must take a careful look at what went wrong in Zhang’s case, punish those responsible and consider ways to avoid wrongful convictions in the future

Lijia Zhang
Lijia Zhang

Updated: 6:15am, 9 Aug, 2020

Why you can trust SCMP
Zhang Yuhuan (front, second from right), gathers with his family after spending almost 27 years in prison before having his conviction overturned on August 4. After multiple appeals, the Supreme People’s Court in Jiangxi province threw out Zhang’s conviction over lack of evidence. Photo: Weibo
Zhang Yuhuan (front, second from right), gathers with his family after spending almost 27 years in prison before having his conviction overturned on August 4. After multiple appeals, the Supreme People’s Court in Jiangxi province threw out Zhang’s conviction over lack of evidence. Photo: Weibo
READ FULL ARTICLE