A court in east China's Shandong Province has extended the review of a rape and murder case, for which a young man was executed 20 years ago, to June this year. This is the fourth time that the review period has been extended.
Nie Shubin, from Hebei Province, which neighbors Shandong, was convicted and executed in 1995 for the rape and murder of a woman in Hebei's capital, Shijiazhuang. In 2005, another man, Wang Shujin confessed to the crime.
This extension was granted after Nie's lawyer submitted new materials, according to Shandong Higher People's Court, which was designated by China's Supreme People's Court to review the case.
The review was first extended in June and then September and again in December last year.
The case is similar to a 1996 case in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where a teenager named Huugjilt was executed for the rape and murder of a woman in June 1996. A self-confessed serial rapist and killer later admitted to the crime while in police custody in 2005.
In December 2014, Huugjilt was acquitted by the regional higher people's court. His parents received state compensation of more than 2 million yuan (about $310,000).
