1st LD: Hearing reviews 20-year-old rape and murder case

A hearing for a rape and murder case, in which a young man was executed in 1995 only for another convict to confess to the crime, began Tuesday in east China's Shandong Province.

Nie Shubin, a native of Hebei Province, which neighbors Shandong, was 21 when he was convicted and executed for the rape and murder of a woman in Hebei's capital Shijiazhuang. However, in 2005, Wang Shujin said he was behind the crime.

The hearing began at 1:30 p.m and continued until 6:30 p.m. at Shandong Higher People's Court.

It was attended by Nie's mother and sister, their lawyers Li Shuting and Chen Guangwu, academics, invited members of the public and officials representing those involved in the original trials, according to posts on the court's microblog.

At the hearing, lawyer Li said the facts and evidence that supported the conviction were unclear and inadequate.

There were many violations in the investigation and trial, Li added.

Li asked the higher court to launch a retrial.

The Nie family's legal team gave statements about their investigations and opinions at the hearing.

Wang was apprehended by police in 2005 for three unconnected rape and murder cases. He also claimed to have raped and murdered a woman in a cornfield on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang in 1994. He was sentenced to death in 2007.

In 2013, Hebei Higher People's Court, which approved Nie's death penalty, overruled Wang's claim. The decision raised questions about judicial impartiality.

In December, the Supreme People's Court asked Shandong Higher People's Court to review the case. The higher court allowed the two lawyers for Nie's family to read the case files.

Normally in China, for the review of a murder conviction, the court goes through case files rather than holding an actual trial. This form of a hearing is rare for such cases.

Prior to the hearing, Zhu Yunsan, presiding judge of the review panel of the Shandong higher court, said they would seriously consider and study the opinions of different parties at the hearing.

"Through the hearing, we hope the public will have a better understanding of the review process, as well as enhancing transparency," he added.

Chinese leaders have announced reforms to advance rule of law in the country to promote fairness and justice.

The review of Nie's case will "ensure judicial fairness and is in response to public concerns," according to the Supreme People's Court in December.

Last year, Chinese courts upheld independence and advanced judicial measures that centered on the goal of "letting the people feel fairness and justice in every case," said a SPC report in March, adding ten major cases were rectified.

Among them, the acquittal of an executed man in another rape-murder case in the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Huugjilt, from Inner Mongolia, was stil a teenager when he was executed for the rape and murder of a woman in June 1996. A self-confessed serial rapist and killer, Zhao Zhihong, admitted to the crime while in police custody in 2005.

In December, Huugjilt had his innocence officially announced by Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Higher People's Court. His parents were awarded state compensation of more than 2 million yuan (322,399 U.S. dollars).

In February, Zhao was sentenced to death for multiple crimes, including the crime that Huugjilt was executed for. Endi