On January 26, according to the WeChat public account of the Shandong Gaofa, the Intermediate People's Court of Linyi City, Shandong Province, concluded the case of Zhang Chao (formerly known as Zhang Zhichao) applying for state compensation in accordance with the law, and paid 3.32 million yuan in compensation to the compensation requester Zhang Chao in accordance with the law.
On January 13, 2020, Zhang Zhichao was acquitted and walked out of court after being detained for 5,449 days. Photo by Zhang Yanliang
On the same day, the Red Star News reporter also learned the latest news from Li Xun, the lawyer representing Zhang Zhichao's case. Zhang Zhichao told Red Star News that he would completely restart after the case was over, and he would also give the money to his mother.
According to Li Xun, Zhang Zhichao received about 3.32 million state compensation, including 1.889 million yuan in compensation for personal freedom in Zhang Zhichao's 5,449 days of detention and more than 1.416 million yuan in compensation for mental damage. In addition, there was also 5,500 yuan that the court withheld from His home when Zhang Zhichao was sentenced to life.
On June 1 last year, Zhang Zhichao formally filed an application for state compensation with the Intermediate People's Court of Linyi City, Shandong Province, with an amount of more than 7.889 million yuan, including more than 1.889 million yuan in compensation for infringement of personal freedom and 6 million yuan in consolation for mental damage.
On the morning of January 26, Zhang Zhichao told Red Star News that he had just received the news that he had received state compensation on his way to work. He said that he thanked lawyers, the media and well-wishers from all walks of life for so many years of caring for and supporting him. After the end of this case, I completely restarted and worked with peace of mind. He said he would give the money to his mother.
Decision on State compensation
According to the Linyi Intermediate People's Court's notice on January 26, 2021, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, the Linyi Intermediate Court fully listened to the opinions of Zhang Chao and his entrusted lawyer, and the two sides conducted several consultations to reach an agreement on matters related to compensation, and the Linyi Intermediate Court made a compensation decision in accordance with law. The compensation comprehensively considers the specific circumstances of Zhang Chao's restricted personal freedom and mental damage, and the average local living standard.
Red Star News previously reported that in the early morning of January 10, 2005, a girl from the Second Middle School in Linshu County, Shandong Province, suddenly disappeared at the school. A month later, the girl's body was found in a boys' toilet at the school. After investigation by the Linshu County Public Security Bureau, it was determined that Zhang Zhichao, a senior high school student who was under 16 years old at the time, raped and killed people. In March 2006, Zhang Zhichao was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape. In 2011, Zhang Zhichao, who had been silent for six years, suddenly cried out in a meeting with his mother, Ma Yuping, and asked her mother to find a lawyer to complain about him. The lawyers investigated and found that the investigation organs had not extracted and identified the epidermal cells, hairs, fingerprints, etc. in the autopsy and the crime scene identified by the police, and there were still many doubts in the case, such as the lack of key evidence, the doubts about the time and place of the crime, the concealment of favorable evidence, and the contradiction in confessions. For example, the color of the victim's clothes that Zhang Zhichao confessed was different from the actual color. Subsequently, Ma Yuping began to run around and embarked on the long road of appealing for her son.
The case has been postponed six times since it was retried by the SPC on November 16, 2017. On December 5, 2019, the case was heard in the Zibo Intermediate Court in Shandong Province. During the trial, the prosecution never raised suspicions, but the court did not pronounce the verdict in court. On January 13, 2020, the Shandong Provincial Higher People's Court pronounced a verdict on the retrial of the "Zhang Zhichao case" at the Intermediate People's Court of Zibo City, Shandong Province, declaring Zhang Zhichao innocent.
Red Star News reporter Zhang Yanliang
Edited by Yixi Chen
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