Chinese man who served 20 years in jail for murder of girlfriend walks free after retrial
Court rules evidence against Yang Ming was flawed
A man who spent 20 years in jail for a murder he did not commit was freed on Tuesday after Guizhou's top court ruled the evidence used to convict him was unreliable, an online mainland news site reported.
His lawyer, Zhang Lei, told the South China Morning Post: "This shouldn't have happened in the first place. There was a good chance to stop the unjust case from happening. I'm grateful for the judges' efforts. They ended the tragedy in time."
Yang is the latest wrongfully convicted person to have his name cleared, as the leadership pushes for courts around the country to redress unjust cases as part of its move to strengthen the rule of law and avoid potential sources of social unrest.
Yang was accused in 1995 of murdering his girlfriend but insisted he was innocent when the case went to trial. The court said he strangled her, and gave him a suspended death sentence, which on the mainland is usually converted to life in jail. But Yang maintained his innocence, and his family petitioned repeatedly for provincial authorities to review the case.