Experts call for compensation shake-up

In recent years, one of the most-publicized miscarriages of justice was that of Nie Shubin, who was executed in 1995 after being convicted of rape and murder. In December, his conviction was overturned by the Supreme People's Court and his family was awarded 1.3 million yuan, the highest sum paid as compensation for mental trauma in China.

By contrast, Qian Renfeng, who spent 14 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing a child with poison, received 500,000 yuan.

"Applying for compensation for mental suffering is like bargaining in a market," said Yang Zhu, Qian's lawyer. "In some cases, awards for mental anguish are arranged privately between the courts and attorneys, which I don't think is sensible or good for applicants," he said.

Chen received 900,000 yuan for the psychological trauma he experienced.

"The award accounted for almost 50 percent of the sum he received for wrongful detention," Wang said.

Both Wang and Yang believe it would be impractical to draw a clear line.

"During the application process, it is difficult to assess how much mental trauma an applicant has suffered. So it's not suitable to award compensation simply as a reflection of the time and effort a lawyer has spent on the case," Yang said.

He suggested that compensation for psychological trauma could be improved by raising the amount paid in daily compensation, and that diversifying the range of items for which people can be compensated would be a practical way of providing more money for mental trauma awards.

Culpability

Cheng Lei, an associate professor of law at Renmin University of China, is encouraged by the rise in the number of flawed convictions that have been overturned in recent years.

But a gap still exists between the amounts claimed and the sums awarded, and it will not be narrowed anytime soon, according to Cheng.

He believes China should follow the example of the United States, where applicants are allowed to sue individuals and departments responsible for miscarriages of justice.

"Identifying individuals and departments and then initiating lawsuits may be a more effective method, because in the US compensation awards in common lawsuits are usually higher than those for claims against the state," he said.

Zhang said some items included in applications, such as travel and hotel expenses, are not accepted by certain courts, which indicates a lack of clear legal regulation, indicating that the law should be improved.

The culpability of the judiciary and the police in miscarriages of justice also needs to be urgently addressed, he said.