In 1995, a 21-year old man was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a woman in north China's Hebei Province. The Second Circuit Court of the Supreme People's Court, announced his acquittal this morning, saying there wasn't enough evidence to prove him guilty. 

A Hebei man has finally had his name cleared after two decades but it's too late to save his life.

In 1995, 21-year old Nie Shubin was sentenced to death for rape and murder. The young man was executed the same year. 21 years later, he has been found not guilty. 

The turning point of the case happened in 2005. A man named Wang Shujin was arrested for another rape and murder in Hebei. To everyone's surprise, Wang confessed to crimes that were supposedly commited by Nie.

The case was reopened and retried. There were twists and turns, but in the end, the Supreme People's Court announced Nie's acquittal.

The court said the original conviction for rape and murder was based on insufficient evidence. 

Interrogation records were partially lost. Crime tools, time of crime, time of death, cause of death, none of these were certain. The only thing the police had was Nie's confession. But the young man may have confessed to crimes he never committed. 

Nie's parents have spent the last 20 years trying to clear their son's name.

As China's judicial system continues to make improvements, the legal process will be strictly adhered to and evidence will be respected to prevent similar mistakes that could cost innocent lives.