Chinese Prisoner Saved Himself from Death Sentence!

Pardons for prisoners on death row are rare, and generally only take place after lengthy legal battles resulting in an exoneration.

It's almost unheard of that an unrepentantly guilty prisoner gets pardoned, but a story has come to light in China that is an example of such clemency being granted.

A 50-year-old Chinese prisoner named Li Hongtao saved himself from the death penalty in 2009 thanks to his innovative inventions, taking advantage of a law allows jail terms to be commuted if prisoners produce useful technical inventions.

image source: google

An electrical engineering graduate from the prestigious Zhejiang University, Li chose a life of crime upon graduation and was first arrested in 1992 after helping associates swindle a business out of US$14,540.

Before he could be jailed, however, Li escaped law enforcement and went on the run.

He was caught again later in 1992 after visiting his girlfriend, only to escape yet again, even after warning guards that he would do so.

Three weeks later he found himself arrested for the third time and was sentenced to death for fraud, theft and escape.

Rather than escape this time, Li rediscovered his love for engineering and spent his days on death row determined to invent a brushless excitation motor, a component used for generating power.

Granted approval by prison authorities, Li regularly conducted experiments and managed to complete a successful demonstration of his motor in the nick of time; on the day before his scheduled execution.

That success saw his death postponed for a year and in 1995 his invention was awarded a patent in Yunnan Province.

This was followed by several other inventions and subsequent patents, including prison systems created using his experience of breaking out of so many facilities.

Li was released from prison in 2009 after having his conviction quashed.

Source: gbtimes, HiTouch

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