Killer-rapist appeals death sentence

An appeal by a convicted murderer and rapist who confessed to a killing for which a teenager was wrongly convicted and executed began at the Inner Mongolia autonomous region's high court on Tuesday.

Zhao Zhihong, 42, confessed to a string of serious crimes after his arrest in 2005. They included a case in Hohhot, the region's capital, in which a woman was raped and murdered in 1996.

An 18-year-old named Hugjiltu was convicted of the crime and sentenced to death, and was executed just 61 days after the killing. However, Hugjiltu was declared innocent at a hearing in December at the High People's Court in Hohhot.