Seeking Justice for Twenty Years: The Su Case Acquittal, Real Free Men Return Home!

Today, Judges Ch'en Po-chih, Liu Hsing-lang, and Ch'en Te-min of the Criminal Division of the Taiwan High Court delivered the verdict on the 96th Year Chu-Tsai-Keng-Ehr No. 1 Su Chien-hsuan et al. robbery case, finding the three defendants not guilty and overturning the first-instance death penalty verdict. In response, the Su Case Exoneration Action Team issues the following statement:

1. To Submit to the Truth is Justice

   Su Chien-ho, Liu Bing-lang, and Chuang Lin-xun had nothing to do with the murder of the Wu couple in Hsichih. This is proven by a total of nine alibi witnesses, the testimony that the true perpetrator Wang Wen-hsiao acted alone, the absence of any evidence at the crime scene linking it to the defendants, and Dr. Henry Lee's crime scene reconstruction expert report.

   The two acquittals in the Su case prove that as long as the court investigates evidence fairly and impartially, the truth will emerge. The key to the acquittal in the Su case lies not in having outstanding defense lawyers, nor in professional forensic science, and even less in widespread social support; rather, it is that the three defendants in the Su case never committed a crime in the first place. For a judicial judgment to submit to the truth is justice; and only complete truth can free innocent defendants from the suspicious gaze of society and allow them to become truly free men.

2. Breaking the Myth of Zero Miscarriages of Justice, the Presiding Judges Show Extraordinary Courage

   If the retrial acquittal in the Su case is finalized, it will be the first precedent in judicial history, as Taiwan has never before had a case where a finalized death penalty was overturned and acquitted through a judicial retrial. The six judges across the retrial and second retrial panels of the Su case dared to break the judicial myth of zero miscarriages of justice in death penalty cases; their courage will be forever remembered in the hearts of the people. Although it remains to be seen whether the acquittal in the second retrial of the Su case will be upheld by the Supreme Court, we hereby expect the Supreme Court to have the courage to bear its historical responsibility and win back the public's trust in the judiciary.

3. Cherishing the Victims' Families, Legally Compensating for the Harm Caused by Misplaced Trust in Judicial Judgments

   Due to the errors committed by the police, prosecutors, and judges, a seed of confrontation and hatred lasting twenty years was sown between the victims' families and the three defendants in the Su case. Particularly during the period of rescue and exoneration, the police, prosecutors, and judges utilized the suffering of the victims to incite social public opinion in order to cover up their own mistakes, subjecting the victims' families to severe secondary victimization.

   The victims of wrongful convictions are not only the defendants languishing behind bars; the victims' families also suffer deeply. To cherish the victims' families is to recognize the substantive and psychological harm caused to them by misplaced trust in judicial judgments. We call on the government to proactively step forward to assume responsibility and legislate compensation for the families of victims of wrongful convictions, so as to eliminate the unwarranted hatred born from judicial miscarriages of justice.

Su Case Exoneration Action Team

Taiwan Association for Human Rights
OEPA
Judicial Reform Foundation