No more coerced confessions
Compared with 18 years ago, China's courts today issue the death penalty more cautiously and review the cases more strictly, which decreases the possibility of wrong verdicts. Yet much remains to be done to prevent similar wrongs. The law that excludes evidence obtained by torture needs to be better implemented, and presumption of innocence as a principle should be followed.
Workers' Daily, Dec 17
Reports say solid evidence showing Huugjilt's innocence were found in 2005 but those who wrongly sentenced him to death prevented a retrial for nine years. A wrong case can be righted; a corrupt system that denies its own mistakes only leads to more wrong cases. It is necessary to thoroughly investigate the process, and propel reform accordingly, so as to close the loopholes that make judicial corruption possible.