Free, but still fighting

Nian Bin spent eight years on death row after being wrongfully convicted of killing two children with poison in 2006. In August 2014, he was exonerated and freed by an appeals court, which said the evidence produced at his trial had been insufficient to guarantee a lawful conviction.

In February, the Fujian province native stepped back into the spotlight. He submitted a second application for State compensation, asking the public security authorities in Fuzhou, the provincial capital, and Pingtan county, where he lived, to pay 4.12 million yuan for improper use of handcuffs and shackles during his years in prison that left him with permanent injuries.

"The illegal use of these restraints injured my brother, and now he is unable to live a normal life," said Nian Jianlan, Nian Bin's older sister.