Sources: All of the information stated in this article is based on reliable sources, and is detailed at the end of the article
Preface
I just want to avenge my mother!
The case of Zhang Koukou back then can be described as impressive, his biological mother was beaten to death by a neighbor, and 22 years later, Zhang Koukou took the initiative to surrender after "avenging his mother".
And the other protagonist of this case, Judge Cao Jianguo, has also become the focus of public opinion.
At that time, many netizens believed that considering the causes and consequences of Zhang Koukou's case, Zhang Koukou should be given a certain degree of leniency.
However, Judge Cao Jianguo insisted on sentencing Zhang Koukou to death, and this sentence caused huge controversy at the time, and Cao Jianguo was labeled as "iron-faced and selfless".
But many years later, Cao Jianguo, who had been promoted to vice president of the court, was imprisoned for corruption and bribery, and this huge change could not help but remind many people of the Zhang Koukou case.
In the Zhang Koukou case, did Cao Jianguo really uphold the principle of fairness and justice?
Good and evil will be rewarded
The former "iron-masked judge" was imprisoned for corruption and bribery.
It is said that during his tenure of office, Cao Jianguo not only embezzled and accepted bribes, but also engaged in favoritism and cronyism.
He once promoted his brother-in-law Li Hong to an important position in the court, and Li Hong was later punished for accepting bribes and failing to supervise the crime.
In the end, Skynet was restored, negligent but not leaky, and Cao Jianguo could not escape the result of being imprisoned.
The exposure of a series of corruption and bribery facts, such as Cao Jianguo's imprisonment, has made the public question the fairness of Cao Jianguo's trial.
Some wonder if a judge who is so corrupt in private is qualified to decide on the lives and deaths of others. In particular, is there a connection between Cao Jianguo's bribery and the Zhang Koukou case back then?
Let's review the beginning and end of the Zhang Koukou case, as well as the details of the trial of Judge Cao Jianguo.
In 1996, the conflict that led to the death of Zhang's mother stemmed from a dispute between the Wang and Zhang families in the same village over the right to operate a processing plant in the village.
The conflict that could have been resolved by taking turns turned into a violent conflict because of the greed of one side, and Zhang Koukou's mother was beaten to death by one of the Wang brothers.
Zhang Koukou, who was only 13 years old, witnessed the whole process of his mother being beaten to death by the Wang brothers, and what was even more cruel was that he even saw his mother's autopsy with his own eyes.
And such a tragic and shocking scene, this is undoubtedly a huge psychological trauma for a teenage child, and it also makes the heart of this teenage boy burst out with vengeful anger.
In addition, the result of the handling of the murderer at that time was too light, and the murderer was sentenced to seven years in prison, with only more than 9,000 yuan in compensation.
This unjust result deepened the seeds of hatred in Zhang Koukou's heart.
But in the years after losing his mother, Zhang Koukou also seemed to want to live a normal life, he joined the army, became an armed police soldier, and performed well in the army.
But the hatred of killing his mother and the fire of hatred in his heart have never been extinguished.
After demobilization, he worked outside for many years, repairing the house, taking care of his father, but under the seemingly peaceful life, there was a turbulent revenge for his mother, and after 22 years, Zhang Koukou, who avenged his mother, finally broke out.
On Chinese New Year's Eve 2018, Zhang Koukou finally picked up the knife of revenge, and he carefully chose this time point because he knew that the Wang brothers would go home to worship their ancestors on this day.
Although one of the Wang brothers did not show up for some reason, Zhang Koukou still did not hesitate to kill the killer, and his actions were fast and precise, showing the characteristics of professional training.
Zhang Koukou was armed with a sharp knife and killed Wang Zhengjun, Wang Xiaojun and their father Wang Zixin, but it is worth noting that during the whole process, Zhang Koukou only targeted the Wang family, and even said to Wang Zixin's daughter-in-law, "I don't kill women", showing his clear goal of revenge.
After the incident, Zhang Koukou voluntarily surrendered to the police.
After the incident, Zhang Koukou's voluntary surrender was surprising. In court, he calmly stated his motives, saying everywhere that he only wanted to avenge his mother and did not want to harm society, and said that he "never regretted it".
But unexpectedly, Zhang Koukou's attitude increased his criminal responsibility and provided a reason for Cao Jianguo to be sentenced to death.
On the face of it, this is an ordinary case of intentional homicide. But when people learned about the causes and consequences of the case, public opinion began to divide.
Many people believe that considering the special background of Zhang Koukou's case, Zhang Koukou should be given a certain degree of leniency.
In fact, during the trial of Zhang Koukou's case, in order to reduce Zhang's punishment, his defense lawyer repeatedly raised the possibility that Zhang Koukou might suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and applied to the court for a psychiatric evaluation.
However, Cao Jianguo, who was the presiding judge, rejected it, and did not listen to the people's controversy at all, and always insisted on sentencing Zhang Koukou to death.
And now that time has passed, when Cao Jianguo was dismissed for corruption and bribery, people began to re-examine this former "iron-masked judge".
When the enforcers themselves become the lawbreakers, public anger erupts like a volcano.
"Cao Jianguo, you also have today, judges who violate the law must be severely punished!" , "Confess in prison, know the law and break the law, and I don't have the face to come out." ”
And when we learned that Cao Jianguo himself was an embezzler, people began to question his verdict.
Many netizens believe that Cao Jianguo, who is corrupt and bribery, is not qualified to make a ruling on the lives of others.
Although the Zhang Koukou case and Cao Jianguo's corruption case do not seem to be directly related, they together reflect some problems in the trial process.
In the Zhang Koukou case, a small contradiction caused a major tragedy, and the initial light sentence of the murderer may have planted the seeds of tragedy.
epilogue
The social reasons behind the tragedy of Zhang Koukou remind us that we must prevent small contradictions from turning into major tragedies.
But in reality, there are many high-quality legal workers in our legal team who make fair and just judgments. So we have to believe in the fairness of our laws.
At the same time, it also reminds us that when faced with complex cases, we cannot simply use black and white standards to judge.
The source of this article is from:
Cao Jianguo, Former Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the Shaanxi Provincial High People's Court, Accepted for Review and Investigation, website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission, released on 2022-08-08
"Dialogue with Deng Xueping, Lawyer in the "Zhang Koukou Case": Judicial Prejudice and Institutional Justice", The Paper, released on 2020-06-18
3. "Zhang Koukou killed 3 people on Chinese New Year's Eve and upheld the death sentence in the second instance", Beijing News, released on April 12, 2019
In order to improve the readability of the article, there may be polishing of the details, please read sensibly, for reference only!