17 days ago, the son of the village party secretary brought someone into the house and wounded the whistleblower’s wife. 17 days later, he re-entered the whistleblower’s house and died after fighting. The court determined that the whistleblower did not constitute legitimate defense.
"Anti-Killing" person serving 4126 days in prison and complaining
At present, the Henan Provincial Procuratorate is reviewing and handling the complaint of Zhang Haofeng and his son's intentional murder
The Zhang family's old house is in dilapidated condition.
Eleven years ago, Xu Zhenjun, the son of the village party secretary, came in the dark.
Chang Weiyun's husband, Zhang Haofeng, recently participated in reporting the economic problems of the village party secretary.
After the fight in the dark, Zhang Haofeng and his son Zhang Haibin were slightly injured; Xu Zhenjun, one of the intruders, was cut to the point and died of excessive blood loss.
Both the Xinxiang Intermediate Court and the Henan High Court believed that Zhang Haofeng and his son deliberately murdered and did not constitute legitimate defense, and the two were sentenced to death with a suspended death sentence.
Since the incident occurred on July 19, 2009, the Zhang family has filed a petition for 4126 days.
Chang Weiyun was 47 years old when her family was arrested. She had only studied for one year in elementary school and was able to write her own name. In order to write complaint materials, she began to read and learn to go online that year.
That day
The village party secretary’s son led someone to wound several villagers who reported his father
Seventeen days before the murder, in the early morning of July 3, 2009, many villagers in Qingheji Village were insulted and beaten.
The lead hitman was Xu Zhenjun, who was 31 years old at the time and was an employee of the Urban Management Bureau of Hongqi District, Xinxiang City.
He drove an Audi car and brought five or six people from the city: "You and I will go home. Someone told my father, you will go knock him with me." In the trunk of the car, a few wooden sticks were placed.
The morning before, nine villagers from Qingheji Village went to the Fengqiu County Commission for Discipline Inspection and jointly reported the corruption of the village party secretary Xu Hongzhen.
That night, the Xu family received the news and knew exactly the name of the reporter.
Xu Zhenjun, the third son of Xu Hongzhen, brought people here.
Whether Xu Hongzhen is corrupt or not, there is no clear conclusion yet.
However, Xu Hongzhen himself said that the County Commission for Discipline Inspection had found out that Qingheji Village had too much food and drink and gave him a warning.
Recalling what happened when the old party secretary was in office, many villagers in Qingheji Village told reporters that in matters such as village relocation, embankment repairs, land distribution, etc., “a bit greedy for money. Many people have opinions about him, and many go to the higher level. Reported”.
Xu Jingzhou was the first person to be beaten that night.
In the police interview transcript that year, Xu Jingzhou said, “As soon as Xu Zhenjun entered the door, he punched me in the head. My wife went to pull him, and he punched me again. I ran to the east room and my mother closed the door tightly. He slammed the door open. My mother stopped him from entering, and four or five people smashed the windowpanes."
Another whistleblower said that Xu Zhenjun came to the house five or six times to retaliate. Each time, he hid with his family and did not dare to come out to stop him no matter how he scolded or smashed things.
After coming out of Xu Jingzhou's house, the group went to Zhang Haofeng's house.
According to police investigation, after Xu Zhenjun and others broke the door of Zhang Haofeng's house and broke into it, Zhang Haofeng's wife, Chang Weiyun, was beaten to death.
Chang Weiyun was the sticks and fists that "taken on" her husband.
She recalled to the reporter that after the other party came in, they started to be very polite: "Sister-in-law, it's nothing to do with you. Zhang Haofeng, come out."
Zhang Haofeng came out of the room when he heard the sound, "They took a stick to beat my husband, I will stop them outside the door." Chang Weiyun said, the other party started to do it, and Xu Zhenjun and others' shovel and bricks all hit him On her body; she pushed the opponent out hard, holding the door firmly.
Xu Zhenjun and others continued to smash the door and throw bricks into the yard, and only stopped after ten minutes.
A companion of Xu Zhenjun told the police that Xu Zhenjun did take a wooden stick when he was beating. He also said that after the fight was over, a group of people drove to Fengqiu County, sat there, ate some buns, and then went to Xinxiang.
The police arrived at dawn.
Chang Weiyun was sent to Fengqiu County People's Hospital for treatment.
Caogang Township Police Station was dealt with.
At that time, the "Certificate" issued by Xu Zhenjun's work unit showed that Xu Zhenjun had been on a business trip on July 2 and was not at the unit; Qingheji Village Committee also stated that Xu Zhenjun was not at home.
That night
Multiple eyewitnesses: Xu Zhenjun led someone to break into Zhang's house
Companion of Xu Zhenjun: He entered Zhang's house alone and was killed
Xu Zhenjun was finally found by the police on the evening of July 19, 2009.
He was lying on the roadside of the wall of Zhang Haofeng's house, and a lot of blood was bleeding on the ground.
She made 27 calls to the police in 144 minutes
Villager Pan remembers that he was at home alone that night and heard someone knock on the door.
Pan stood up and opened the door to see that three or four people had already gone south, and one of them shouted "not this one".
Pan returned to the house to sleep, and the next day, he heard that something happened to Zhang Haofeng's house.
A villager playing in a nearby canteen heard the news of the "fight" and rushed over. He saw several people stomping on the door of Zhang's house, and others stepping in. After a while, the door opened and several people swarmed in. .
He said that there were many villagers onlookers, but the sky was too dark and he was a little far away, failing to see the appearance of the stompers and onlookers.
The 80-year-old Xu Kunliang confirmed these details, “Five or six people came over and started slamming the door at the door of Zhang’s house. Some people slammed the wall... I only heard the sound of slamming the door and wooden sticks. I don’t know how the door opened. ...I saw those five or six people entering Zhang's house, and then I heard banging and banging fighting sounds coming from the courtyard."
At that time, the Zhang family had called the police while the other party was still stomping the door.
"Xu Zhenjun is going to my house, he is about to beat someone to death, come on!" According to the description of the policeman from the Caogang Township Police Station at that time, the police station received a call from Zhang Haofeng's daughter at about 9:20 that night.
Zhang Haofeng’s son and 22-year-old Zhang Haibin said, “The person who came to my house last time to make trouble is here again. I went downstairs and saw my father and sister, so I asked if I called the police. My father said that I did, and I asked my sister to report. Several times, but the door was always stomped by them."
Chang Weiyun also received a call from her daughter: "There is another person at home, we are smashing the door!" He was beaten 17 days ago and his injuries were not healed. Chang Weiyun is still being treated in the hospital; her daughter-in-law is pregnant for nine months and is about to give birth. She lives in the hospital together.
That night, Chang Weiyun did not close her eyes, she was worried about the safety of her family.
After hanging up her daughter's phone, she started calling the police frantically, "I made hundreds of calls to the police."
A call record obtained by the reporter shows that from 9:38 to 12 midnight that night, Chang Weiyun dialed 27 alarm calls within 144 minutes, including 110, Caogang Township Police Station landline, and Caogang Township Police Station Director Zhao Yun Flying mobile phone and so on.
He said he took out a stick in panic
Later I found out that it was a sickle with blood
Except for the two parties, no one saw the fighting in the courtyard that night.
Although there were many villagers in Qingheji Village who were onlookers near Zhang's house, no one came to see them.
In the file obtained by the reporter, Zhang Haofeng and his son described what happened in the hospital.
Zhang Haibin said that after he got out of the bedroom on the second floor, he asked his 21-year-old sister to call the police and hide in the house; the father and son stood in the yard, each holding a wooden stick, "waiting for the police to come."
There was a "lesson" from being beaten last time, and no one dared to go to the gate, "I was worried about being hurt. I don't know how many people the other party came to this time."
The door opened and the slammer came in.
Zhang Haibin recalled that as soon as the other party saw his father, he fought, "Someone took a knife to my father, and I took a wooden stick. Before I could beat him, I was chopped and fell on the ground."
Zhang Haibin said that he picked up a watermelon knife from the pigpen, and was about to cut it at the other party, but was knocked down again. "At that time, my dad was already lying on the ground. They took me at the gate again. Down."
Zhang Haofeng also said in his confession that after the other party came in, he wanted to find a place to hide. Before he could hide, he was hit with a stick on his head and fainted to the ground.
In the chaos, Zhang Haibin thought of his wife and the child who was about to be born, struggling to run out of the gate, "I can't die here, and I can't let my child be born without a father." Someone chased him but didn't catch him.
The onlookers did not see what happened in the yard, but the scene of Zhang Haibin escaping and being chased was witnessed by many people.
According to witnesses, Zhang Haibin ran out, and four or five people were chasing him. A few people did not catch up. Some people said, "Go, go back and clean up that one", and then went into the Zhang family courtyard.
Zhang Haibin, who had escaped, went to his uncle's house for help.
An eyewitness said that Zhang Haibin opened the door and came in with blood all over his body and a knife in his left hand. "It is more than ten centimeters long, with a pointed front and teeth on the back of the knife."
Zhang Haofeng is still at home.
After being stunned, he woke up and just stood up, "I saw a few people cursing and coming towards me. I was very nervous, and in a panic, I took out a stick, hit a few people in front of them, and turned and ran. Go back to the house."
After not running a few steps, when Xu Zhenjun yelled "It's me", Zhang Haofeng stayed in the house and dared not come out. It was not until his son came back that he found that he was holding a sickle with blood instead of a stick.
The father and son said that there was no one in the courtyard at this time, and they did not know when the other party left.
Fearing that the other party would return again, they hid on the second floor until the police from Caogang Township Police Station arrived.
In the police car, the father and son went to the clinic and never stepped into the house ever since.
They were taken from the clinic to the Fengqiu County Public Security Bureau by the police from the Caogang Township Police Station. Later they went to the detention center and then to the prison.
Statement by the deceased's companion
Was identified as a fact of the case
After the murder, Xu Zhenjun's two companions, Zhao Wenjie and Li Mouqiang, provided the police with their statements.
They said that at 8 o’clock that evening, after the three of them had dinner and had a drink, Xu Zhenjun said that they would go home, and the three of them drove to Qinghe Village. When they reached an alley in the village, Xu Zhenjun got out of the car alone, leaving the two of them in the car. Waiting on board.
Afterwards, they heard the sound of fighting from the hutong, and the two got out of the car and rushed over.
Li Mouqiang took a knife, and when someone ran out of the yard, he chased him up and chopped twice. “When he turned around, as soon as he entered the door, he didn't know who was chopped by his chest.”
The knife was always in the car, they said, it was Xu Zhenjun's knife.
Zhao Wenjie denied participating in the "fights". He said that after rushing over, he saw someone waving things around, and Xu Zhenjun was shaking and unable to stand.
Both Zhao Wenjie and Li Mouqiang stated that they did not see the process of Xu Zhenjun fighting with Zhang's family; when he arrived, Xu Zhenjun fell to the ground, and the two helped him out and called the police and emergency calls.
Zhao Wenjie also emphasized in the transcript that there was no onlooker at the scene, and he could not find someone to carry the injured Xu Zhenjun.
The reporter combed through the files and found that Zhao Wenjie and Li Mouqiang's activities that night had no circumstantial evidence other than the statements of the two; however, a large number of the statements made by the two were confirmed as facts of the case after they were investigated by the Xinxiang Intermediate People's Court.
For example, the Xinxiang Intermediate People's Court stated in the judgment that at 21 o'clock that night, Xu Zhenjun drove with Li Mouqiang and Zhao Wenjie to the vicinity of Zhang Haofeng's home. Xu Zhenjun got out of the car alone, walked to the door of Zhang Haofeng's house, shouted and beat Zhang Haofeng hard. Home courtyard door.
This description is inconsistent with the testimony of multiple eyewitnesses in the file.
According to witness descriptions, Xu Zhenjun did not "get out of the car alone." Five or six people stomped the door and broke into Zhang's house by force.
The verdict always emphasized that there were only three people on Xu Zhenjun's side, and only Xu Zhenjun entered the Zhang family; the verdict did not specify how Xu Zhenjun "entered".
The contents of the police investigation revealed that the bottom of the handles on both sides of the Zhangjia gate were damaged by external forces; the bolt on the back of the gate was deformed and bent. "Xu Zhenjun can enter Zhang Haofeng's house with enough external force."
"After hearing the sound, Zhang Haibin and Zhang Haofeng came into the courtyard from the house, turned off the lights in the courtyard, and each stood in the courtyard with a stick." The Xinxiang Intermediate People's Court stated in the verdict that after Xu Zhenjun entered the courtyard, there was a fight between the two sides and Zhang Haibin was holding a sharp knife. , Haofeng hacked and tied Xu Zhenjun's body, Zhang Haofeng held a sickle and hugged Xu Zhenjun's upper body randomly, causing Xu Zhenjun to be injured in multiple places.
The "facts" found by the court made Chang Weiyun even more angry.
She said that no witnesses saw the fighting in the yard, and Xu Zhenjun’s companions also said that they did not see the confession of her husband and son, except for the plot of "turn off the lights and stand in the yard with a stick". The descriptions were inconsistent, and she questioned the basis of the court's determination.
The Xinxiang Intermediate People's Court found that after hearing the sound of fighting, Li Mouqiang, who was sitting in the car waiting with a machete, rushed to the door of Zhang's house with Zhao Wenjie, and Zhang Haibin and Li Mouqiang each slashed each other.
The contents of the file show that several witnesses said in their testimony that Zhang Haibin escaped from the courtyard shortly after Xu Zhenjun and other five or six people broke into Zhang's house, and several people were also chased out from the courtyard. No one saw Li Mouqiang and Zhao Wenjie. Hurry to the door of Zhang's house."
These testimonies were kept in the file and did not appear in any effective legal document.
The courts at all levels in Henan did not say whether it was admissible or not, nor did it mention a word.
That sentence
Zhang's father and son do not constitute legitimate defense
In January 2011, the Henan High Court had just made its first final verdict and sentenced Zhang Haofeng to a suspended death sentence for intentional homicide.
The father and son believed that in the face of five or six thugs smashing doors and escaping walls into the house for violent attacks, their resistance was an instinctive self-defense behavior.
The Henan High Court did not approve of justified defense on the grounds: Zhang Haofeng and his son were prepared with sharp knives and other weapons, and Xu Zhenjun cut him and wounded him without precaution.
The Xinxiang Intermediate People’s Court made a first-instance judgment on June 25, 2010, stating that Zhang Haofeng and his son waited in the courtyard with the tools prepared in advance and turned off the lights. After Xu Zhenjun entered, the two sides fought, and Xu Zhenjun had multiple wounds. Have the subjective intention to kill."
Xu Zhenjun, the victim of the Zhang family who "entered at night", was identified by the Xinxiang Intermediate People's Court as having "obvious fault", but "Zhang Haofeng and his son killed Xu Zhenjun particularly cruelly. The degree of Xu Zhenjun's fault was not enough to affect the evaluation of Zhang Haofeng's father and son's criminal responsibility."
Beginning in 2012, Chang Boyang, a lawyer from Henan Rail Law Firm, intervened in the case and is still helping Zhang Haofeng and his son to appeal.
In his opinion, 17 days before the incident, Xu Zhenjun and others had beaten Chang Weiyun to the hospital. The second time he came back in the middle of the night, people would definitely panic, "The house is a private place, a natural shelter, and the other party forcibly entered. , The right holder has the right to defend itself."
Chang Boyang also said, "Knowing that the other party is smashing the door outside the hospital and intending to do harm, shouldn't people be allowed to pull the lights and prepare defensive tools? It is even more inexplicable to say that the intruder is "defensive". How to'defenseless'?"
"Defenders anticipate risks in advance and take precautions. Therefore, they are not considered legitimate defense. This is unreasonable." Chang Boyang said that people have an instinctive sense of self-protection and use this reason to determine that Zhang Haofeng and his son do not constitute legitimate defense. , This is not in line with human nature.
Zhang Haofeng's death sentence was not approved by the Supreme Court, and the case was sent back for retrial.
On March 21, 2013, the Xinxiang Intermediate People's Court and the Henan High People's Court issued new first-instance and final judgments, again determined that Zhang Haofeng and his son's behavior did not constitute legitimate defense, the reason is still "before Xu Zhenjun enters, we have made preparations in advance."
However, Zhang Haofeng was sentenced to a suspended death sentence and limited commutation.
new progress
The procuratorate is reviewing the complaint in the case
On the third day after the murder, the daughter-in-law gave birth to a baby girl.
Hearing that Xu Zhenjun was dead, he was worried about being retaliated. Chang Weiyun took his daughter-in-law, daughter, and granddaughter to "flee in a hurry"; halfway in Jiaozuo, he defected to an old couple.
Chang Weiyun said, "I was about to collapse at the time, crying every day. My daughter-in-law said, "If you don't save your son, you will cry." She hugged her granddaughter and left." After her daughter-in-law left, Chang Weiyun's daughter After marrying, Chang Weiyun began to run for her husband and son.
Things are changing.
The reporter was informed that the Henan Provincial Procuratorate is currently reviewing and handling the complaint of Zhang Haofeng and his son's intentional murder case, which has been filed for review.
"The current judicial environment is definitely getting better and better, and the review will definitely have a result. Now there are more and more reported cases of acquittal." A person in charge of Fengqiu County Public Security Bureau told reporters, "If ( Zhang Haofeng's father and son case) was sentenced to innocence, state compensation was initiated, and the relevant personnel's accountability procedures were initiated. After the investigation is made, a conclusion will be drawn whether it is injustice. If there is nothing wrong, the person will be innocent."
Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News reporter Wang Jianqiang Photographic Report from Xinxiang, Henan