Nie Shubin

Nie Shubin (; November 6, 1974 – April 27, 1995) was a Chinese man wrongfully executed for a rape and murder in the Hebei capital, Shijiazhuang. He is one of the most famous wrongful executions in the history of the People's Republic of China, and considered an example of injustice in the Communist Chinese legal system from the "Strike Hard" era.

Trial and execution In 1994, police in Shijiazhuang found the decomposed corpse of Kang Juhua , a woman in her thirties, in a cornfield between the Shijiazhuang Hydraulic Parts Factory and Kongzhai Village. Near the corpse police found a bicycle, a dress and underwear. After a brief on-the-spot investigation, the police determined that this was a road rape and murder case. 20 year old Nie Shubin was one of the first bicyclists to pass by the area after police discovered the scene. He was arrested on the spot.

In an extremely short surprise trial characteristic of the "Strike Hard" campaigns of the era, Nie was charged on April 20, 1995, arraigned on the 22nd, convicted on the 25th, issued a death warrant on the 26th, and executed by shooting on the 27th. On the 28th, Nie's father went to the detention center to deliver daily necessities for his son as usual, when the staff told him, "don't come again, your son was executed yesterday." Xu Yongyue, by then Minister of State Security, reportedly came forward and made great efforts to obstruct the investigation, leaning on former colleagues in Hebei and other senior MSS officials. Hebei provincial authorities attempted to strongarm Wang Shujin to revise his confession, including under threat of torture.

Legacy Nie Shubin's case reportedly influenced the Chinese government to introduce requirements mandating all police interrogations be video recorded.