2016年CRI Four Acquitted after 22 Years in Jail
时间：2019-02-21 作者：英语课 分类：2016CRI中国国际广播电台
Four Acquitted 1 after 22 Years in Jail
Thursday's rehearing by the Higher People's Court of Fujian ended with the four defendants 2 cleared of charges and their original sentences overturned.
Cai Jinsen was among them.
"When the acquittal was announced, I felt relieved. There were many things I wanted to speak out about, but I decided 3 not to do so."
Cai Jinsen, along with Xu Jinlong, Zhang Meilai and Xu Yusen were arrested in 1994 in connection with the death of a 66-year-old man in the province’s Putian City.
In June the year after, Cai was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve 4, while the others, initially 5 sentenced to death, had their penalties suspended in April 1999.
Cai was released in August 2014, while the other three remained in jail until Thursday.
At the rehearing, the court said it had found some witness testimony 6 contradictory 7 and possible forgery 8 concerning the finger prints of a key witness.
Mao Lixin, one of the lawyers for the defendants, hailed the acquittal.
"They were convicted largely based on testimonies 9 without any physical evidence available against them. Neither their fingerprints 10 nor the tools they used in the killing 11 have been found."
The acquittal is seen the latest success in China's enhanced efforts against wrongful convictions.
It comes just days after the release of Sichuan native, Chen Man, who had been wrongfully jailed for over two decades on arson 12 and murder charges.
There have been calls for greater efforts to improve accountability in China's legal system.
But Yi Yanyou, Chen Man's lawyer, suggests the priority should be given to having appeal procedures streamlined.
"A retrial is usually required to be completed within a certain period. But there is no time limit for a court to reply, to say whether they accept a retrial application. So in many cases, there would be an endless wait for such a court reply."
Yi added that it even becomes a mission impossible as a retrial application would be reviewed in the first instance by the court that gave the original sentence, which is naturally reluctant to see a retrial.
At the same time, the lawyer also called for attention to be paid to the root cause of the problem.
"Wrongful convictions are taking place while we are trying to correct previous ones. So it's much more urgent to think about how we can prevent wrongful conviction at the very beginning and protect the rights of suspects in an investigation 13."
As yet, all the four defendants in Putian have applied 14 for state compensation.
- The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
- Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。
- The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
- As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
- This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
- There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
- He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
- The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。
- The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
- Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。
- The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
- He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。
- The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
- What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。
- The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
- He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。
- Davie poured forth his eloquence upon the controversies and testimonies of the day. 戴维向他滔滔不绝地谈那些当时有争论的问题和上帝的箴言。
- Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. 22求你除掉我所受的羞辱和藐视，因我遵守你的法度。
- Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
- They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
- Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
- He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
- He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。
- In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
- He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
- She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
- This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。