Red Star Journalist | Chen Qingyuan Intern Li Hugo
Editor | Wang He Editor Wei
On the morning of June 30th, 2022, 165438+ Jiangxi Higher People's Court publicly pronounced the case of intentional homicide, robbery and kidnapping of Lao Rong Zhi in the second instance. The court held that Rong Zhi Sr. and France and Britain deliberately and illegally deprived others of their lives, which constituted the crime of intentional homicide; Old Rong Zhi's behavior also constitutes robbery and kidnapping. The ruling dismissed the appeal and upheld the original judgment. The ruling on the death penalty of old Rong Zhi was submitted to the Supreme People's Court for approval according to law.
Regarding the judgment of the second instance, Rong Zhi's second brother said that Rong Zhi refused to accept it in court, saying that she "put the lavatory on my head", and she said in court that she would appeal. The victim's family recognized the judgment of the second instance and believed that the law was fair and just.
↑ The scene of the second trial of the old Rong Zhi case shot by Jiangxi High Court.
Defendant Rong Zhi Sr.:
Refusing to accept the verdict is to put the lavatory on her head.
165438+1On October 30th, old Rong Zhi entered the court wearing protective clothing and a mask.
When Rong Zhi Sr appealed in the second instance, he put forward several reasons for appeal. Procedurally, the defender pointed out that the old Rong Zhi case is a major criminal case, and it is illegal to use a three-member collegiate bench instead of a seven-member collegiate bench in the first instance, and some cases are not ruled out and doubtful. He asked the Jiangxi Higher People's Court to send the case back to Nanchang Intermediate People's Court for retrial.
In the court of165438+1October 30th, the presiding judge read out the criminal facts of Nanchang, Wenzhou, Changzhou and Hefei. The presiding judge held that all the grounds of appeal of Rong Zhi Sr were invalid.
The Higher People's Court of Jiangxi Province held that in the crime of intentional homicide, robbery and kidnapping, Rong Zhi Sr. actively carried out acts such as searching, cheating, binding, guarding, threatening the victim, stepping on the spot, withdrawing money, buying tools for committing crimes, etc., and had a clear division of labor with France and Britain, and cooperated with each other to form a * * *, with strong independence and obvious effects. These two men have committed many crimes for four years. There is no evidence that old Rong Zhi was subjected to mental control and coercion by Fa Ying. Old Rong Zhi also played a major role in the joint crime of * * *, and should be recognized as the principal offender according to law.
The Jiangxi Higher People's Court held that the appellants Lao Rong Zhi and Fa Ying deliberately and illegally deprived others of their lives, which constituted the crime of intentional homicide; Whoever robs another person's property by violence or threat for the purpose of illegal possession constitutes robbery; Kidnapping others for the purpose of extorting property constitutes the crime of kidnapping. Old Rong Zhi's combined punishment for several crimes should be punished according to law. Old Rong Zhi and France and Britain deliberately killed five people; Robbery caused one death, and it was burglary, and the amount of robbery was huge; Kidnapping causes one person to die, the circumstances of the crime are particularly bad, the means are particularly cruel, the consequences and crimes are extremely serious, the subjective malignancy is deep, and the social harm is great, so it should be severely punished according to law. The ruling dismissed the appeal and upheld the original judgment.
After the audit, an observer said that after the court announced the verdict, Rong Zhi Sr. expressed her opinion. She thought that China was a country ruled by law, but she was disappointed with the verdict. She expressed her dissatisfaction in court, thinking that it was defaming her and putting the lavatory on her head. The presiding judge reminded Rong Zhi Sr. that the death penalty would be reviewed in the later Supreme Law, and asked Rong Zhi Sr. whether to continue to entrust a lawyer or receive legal aid. Old Rong Zhi said he would think about it.
Lao Shengqiao, the old second brother, also mentioned in an interview with Red Star News that Lao did not recognize the judgment of the second instance. "Why did you plant what you did on my head? This is to put the lavatory on my head. " Lao Shengqiao believes that there are many "flaws and problems" in the first-instance judgment, but the second instance upheld the first-instance judgment. They will continue to entrust lawyers to appeal to the Supreme Court.
↑ The scene of the second trial of the old Rong Zhi case shot by Jiangxi High Court.
Victims' families:
The verdict is a statement of seven victims.
Zhu Dahong, the wife of Lu Zhongming, the victim of Hefei case, said that she had been waiting for more than 20 years after learning the verdict. The verdict gave seven victims and society an explanation, and the law was fair and just.
Zhu Dahong's youngest daughter said that she was very pleased to hear the verdict of the second instance and finally waited for the verdict. She originally planned to attend the audit, but she was unable to attend the audit of the second-instance judgment due to the epidemic. Although Rong Zhi Sr was sentenced to death in the second instance, he still needs to wait for the review result of the Supreme Court.
Zhu Dahong's legal aid lawyer said that the second instance upheld the original judgment "as expected". The case of Old Rong Zhi embodies the progress of the rule of law, protecting the rights of the victims and the defense rights of the defendants. Facts are facts after all, and the law is fair and just, which will give the victims an explanation. The defendant did not admit or accept the accusation, and could not prove that she did not commit a crime. The court will make a decision based on all the evidence. Rong Zhi Sr was sentenced three months after the second trial, which also shows that the country is very cautious about the death penalty.
Xiong, the uncle of the victim of Nanchang case, said after the trial: "It's natural for a criminal like her not to be sentenced to death."
Before the trial, the presiding judge read out the details of the trial, and neither the prosecution nor the defense, including the parties, could speak or ask questions. Unable to go to the trial hall, Xiong watched the whole trial in the auditorium.
The bear sneered at the old man's last defense. "It must be pale. She is the principal offender, and she is the principal offender anyway. We can't deny the fact of existence because she doesn't recognize it. "
Xiong told the reporter of Red Star News that Lao Xian "thought about the preciousness of her own life and had a strong desire to survive, but she didn't think that when she committed crimes with France and Britain, other people's lives were also precious."
After the judgment of the second instance, Rong Zhi Sr also has the right to ask the High Court for a review of the death penalty. Xiong said: "This matter will not be settled until the death penalty has landed."
An old man in his seventies took part in the second trial of Old Rong Zhi in August this year. Knowing that Lao/Kloc-0 was sentenced on October 30th, he rushed to Nanchang from Fujian on the 29th to attend the trial again. He told the reporter of Red Star News that the presiding judge asked Old Rong Zhi whether he needed legal aid or asked for it himself when reviewing the death penalty. Old Rong Zhi said he would "reconsider". The observer said that the biggest feeling of attending the trial was that "the facts are clear, killing people pays for their lives", and he believed that the law was fair and just. The old Rong Zhi in the trial court "came to this step and looked like he was going to die."