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What's the matter with the broken terracotta warriors? The latest development of American terracotta

"The jury disagreed on whether the defendant was guilty of breaking and stealing the fingers of the Chinese terracotta warriors and horses on display in the local museum, and the local court ruled Tuesday that the trial was invalid and the jury dissolved, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tuesday. Prosecutors said they would decide whether to restart the case by May 15. What is the final result of this case?

Seven of the 12 jurors reportedly found the man innocent. Prosecutors asked the jury to think about what they would think if someone stole a piece of the "independence bell" from the American Independence Hall in Philadelphia. In Chinese eyes, rohana's crime is equivalent to this.

In September 2017, the exhibition "Terra Cotta Warriors: the eternal guard of the first emperor of Qin Dynasty" officially opened at the Franklin Museum of Science in Philadelphia, USA, and the exhibition ended in March 2018. In February 2018, the media exploded that the thumb of a terra cotta warrior in the exhibition was torn off and stolen (as shown in the picture). The museum didn't find this until two weeks later. Police found the suspect, 24-year-old Michael Middleton rohana, on surveillance video. According to U.S. media reports, rohana went to the museum for a party on December 21, 2017, slipped into the exhibition hall, broke off the thumbs of the terracotta warriors and took them away. It caused great anger in China. The head of Shaanxi cultural relics department said that such a vicious event was unprecedented, and he expressed strong indignation and condemnation for the destruction and theft of cultural heritage, and said that China would seriously investigate the responsibility of relevant departments of the United States in accordance with the relevant provisions of the 'exhibition agreement'.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, rohana confessed to the crime in court, but said his behavior was "stupid mistake" in drunk state and "I don't know why to break it". Museum officials testify that the thumbs of the terracotta warriors have now returned to China, but have not yet been restored. According to the report, the terra cotta warriors, whose fingers were broken by rohana, are one of the few completely restored Terra Cotta Warriors among thousands of terra cotta warriors in China, with a guaranteed price of 4.5 million US dollars. The Chinese government strictly supervises the research and restoration of terra cotta warriors and forbids their sale.

According to reports, the 12 members of the jury in the case spent 11 hours debating, but could not reach an agreement on such crimes as rohana's' theft and concealment of cultural relics parts'. On the afternoon of the 9th, the judge dismissed the jury, which "obviously made rohana's family and supporters happy". His lawyers claimed that rohana had been 'unduly charged' by the prosecution, who charged him with 'intentional robbery of the museum' under the law, but they believed that 'this was only a case of intentional destruction of public property by young people'. Lawyer Henry said: 'the prosecution's charges are against art thieves, like the 11 Arhats or the mission impossible,' but rohana 'is not sneaking around in the museum in his assassin suit. He was a drunk in a green ugly Christmas Sweater'. They also believe that the thumb value of the broken terracotta is lower than the $150000 recognized by the prosecution, because it is speculative.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, in his final statement to the jury, Assistant U.S. prosecutor Newton said: 'rohana deliberately broke the thumb, took the museum out and took it home, which is theft. According to KYW news radio, rohana faces up to 20 years in prison if the prosecution is found guilty.

Chen Lusheng, former deputy director of the National Museum, told the global times Thursday that although it is emotionally difficult to accept such a result, we cannot interfere with the legal procedures and judgments of the United States. This matter is very complicated. At present, what we can do is to investigate the responsibilities of the relevant departments of the United States, i.e. Franklin Science Museum in Philadelphia, according to the relevant provisions of the 'exhibition agreement'. How to compensate and how much to compensate depends on the provisions of the agreement and the insurance terms. But as the saying goes, no matter how much you pay, even if you repair it, it's not the same.

When the cultural relics of the Chinese terracotta warriors were displayed in the Franklin Institute Museum in Philadelphia, USA, they were damaged and stolen by tourists, which attracted worldwide attention. The crime man's behavior and the museum's dereliction of duty make people feel sad and strongly dissatisfied.