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Recent court reversals

On March 26, the Zhejiang Provincial High People's Court reversed a 2004 ruling, after new DNA evidence linked another man, now dead, to the rape and murder of a woman. Zhang Gaoping, 47, who received a 15-year prison term, and his nephew Zhang Hui, 38, who received a death sentence with a two-year reprieve, were acquitted after 10 years in prison. The police may have used illegal methods to obtain a confession, the court said when it reversed its 2004 ruling.

Zhao Yanjin, who was convicted of murdering a 6-year-old boy in 2001, was released from prison in February, 20 months after the conviction was overturned for lack of evidence. Zhao, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment twice and acquitted twice in the past 12 years, spent more than 3,300 days in prison.

A court in Pingdingshan, Henan province, on April 25 overturned the wrongful conviction of Li Huailiang, who had been imprisoned for 12 years. Li was convicted of murdering a 13-year-old girl in 2001. Li was acquitted because the evidence was not enough to support the conviction.