Protesting the Ministry of Justice's Hasty Execution of the Death Penalty! Joint Statement by the Judicial Reform Foundation, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, and Other Groups

Regarding Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu's signing of death warrants on April 28 for four death row inmates—Chang Chun-hung, Chang Wen-wei, Hung Chen-yao, and K'o Shih-ming—and the execution of all four by firing squad this evening (April 30), the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) expresses shock and anger. TAEDP clarifies several facts regarding the reasons provided by the Ministry of Justice for public scrutiny:

1. On March 29, 2010, the TAEDP commissioned seven lawyers, including Li Nien-chu, Ku Li-hsiung, and Kao Yung-cheng, to file a constitutional interpretation petition with the Grand Justices of the Judicial Yuan on behalf of 44 death row inmates. Due to time constraints, four of them—Chang Chun-hung, Chang Wen-wei, Hung Chen-yao, and K'o Shih-ming—did not attach valid authorizations for constitutional interpretation on the day of the filing. However, regarding this procedural matter of missing authorizations, the Secretariat of the Grand Justices of the Judicial Yuan sent a letter to the seven lawyers on April 22 requesting corrections within ten days of receipt (i.e., by May 3, 2010). Additionally, the Secretariat simultaneously contacted various correctional facilities to ascertain the willingness of the convicted death row inmates to seek constitutional interpretation.
2. Upon receiving the aforementioned letter, the TAEDP respectively contacted the four death row inmates who had not issued authorizations. Chang Wen-wei and Hung Chen-yao indicated their refusal, while K'o Shih-ming did not respond at all. The TAEDP specifically dispatched personnel to the Tainan Detention Center for a visit, but the detention center replied that K'o Shih-ming was in solitary confinement (prohibited from receiving visitors), making it unclear whether he firmly refused constitutional interpretation. Meanwhile, Chang Chun-hung issued a personally signed authorization on April 26, expressing his willingness to commission the TAEDP to engage lawyers to file for constitutional interpretation on his behalf. Therefore, Chang Chun-hung's petition for constitutional interpretation was completely lawful and beyond doubt.
3. According to Article 2, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1 of the Ministry of Justice's "Key Points for the Review and Implementation of Death Penalty Cases," the Supreme Prosecutors Office shall not submit cases with pending lawful petitions for constitutional interpretation to the Minister of Justice for execution warrants. However, the Minister of Justice disregarded Chang Chun-hung's lawful constitutional interpretation petition, unlawfully signed the execution warrant, and still claimed to be acting in accordance with the law—this is the height of irony.
4. When the four death row inmates received their final judgments from the Supreme Court, none of them had defense counsel to represent them. According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which was ratified and brought into domestic legal effect by President Ma Ying-jeou, due process requirements dictate that defendants facing the death penalty must have defense counsel at all stages. Article 388 of our Code of Criminal Procedure violates this covenant. The Grand Justices should not have ignored this internationally recognized fundamental right and had the opportunity to declare the death penalty judgments unconstitutional. However, Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu rashly and even maliciously disregarded this constitutional interpretation, overstepping his bounds to determine that the petition for constitutional interpretation was unlawful before the Grand Justices made any decision. This administrative overreach into judicial territory is not acting in accordance with the law; rather, it can only be described as treating human life as grass. The Ministry of Justice's claim of prudent execution is entirely a lie, and the Minister of Justice should bear political responsibility for this.
5. The TAEDP is heartbroken that the human rights record of four and a half years with zero death penalty executions has been ruined overnight. We must also more firmly call upon the general public to rethink: when doubts still surround the existence or abolition of the death penalty system, the Ministry of Justice's approach is actually "procedural haste and accelerated execution." Therefore, we call for immediate legislation to halt the execution of the death penalty.

Participating Organizations

Judicial Reform Foundation
Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty
Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Amnesty International Taiwan
Enlighten Education Foundation
Taipei Bar Association Human Rights Protection Committee

Press Contacts

Lin Feng-cheng, Attorney-at-Law, CEO of the Judicial Reform Foundation
Emma Lin, CEO of the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty
Rita Wang, Secretary General of Amnesty International Taiwan
Tsai Chi-hsun, Secretary General of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights