Nie's parents cry after their son was judged innocent by Supreme People's Court.

SHIJIAZHUANG, March 30 -- The parents of a Chinese man who was executed for a murder he did not commit was awarded 2.68 million yuan (about 394,000 U.S. dollars) in compensation by the Higher People's Court in Hebei Province on Thursday.

Nie Shubin (File photo)

Nie Shubin was 21 in 1995 when he was found guilty and executed for the rape and murder of a woman in Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei.

In 2005, another man, Wang Shujin, confessed to the crime.

In December last year, the Supreme People's Court, China's top court, acquitted Nie, ruling that the previous conviction was based on insufficient evidence and unclear facts.

Of the state compensation, 1.3 million yuan was for the psychological damage caused to Nie's parents.