Case of a Gong County Commoner Suing the County Sheriff for Torturing the Innocent (Tianbao 9)

In 750 AD, a commoner from Gong County, Henan Prefecture, accused County Sheriff Zhang Jingyu and his subordinates of torturing an innocent person without cause. The victim, who had committed no crime, was brutally flogged and later committed suicide by hanging. The case reached the imperial court, and Emperor Xuanzong ordered the Dali Temple to investigate. The tribunal found that Zhang Jingyu and others had violated the Tang Code's prohibition against wanton torture. The court ruled that they should face the maximum penalty, effectively a death sentence, underscoring the law's strict stance on illegal interrogation methods.

The Dali Temple determined that Zhang Jingyu and the others "should all be sentenced to the extreme penalty" (death), reflecting the gravity of their offense under Tang law.

Whether County Sheriff Zhang Jingyu and his associates illegally tortured an innocent person, leading to death, thus constituting the crime of "torturing the guiltless"; determination of criminal liability for death caused by abuse of judicial power.

The case reaffirmed the Tang Code's prohibition against torturing the innocent and strengthened central oversight of local judicial officials. It served as a stern warning against the abuse of coercive interrogation, highlighting the legal principle of "cautious punishment" and influencing later judicial reviews in imperial China.