Prosecutor, You Were Truly Wrong This Time!

Regrettably, Lee Shuang-chuan committed suicide. While many pointed the finger at the prosecutor, the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office released yet another regrettable statement consisting of just a few brief sentences explaining how it "did not violate the principle of non-disclosure of investigations." The core message, of course, was: "The Prosecutors Office did nothing wrong."

Of course, the prosecutor is in the right, provided that the ones who violated the principle of non-disclosure of investigations were the police officers executing the orders. But aside from penalizing the law-breaking frontline police officers, shouldn't there also be some responsibility taken for inadequate supervision? Of course, we also know that police performance ratings are not graded by prosecutors, and one could certainly argue that the police do not fall under your jurisdiction—that is the responsibility of the National Police Agency, and prosecutors truly did nothing wrong!

Of course, the prosecutor is still in the right. Ordering that the body not be cremated and merely "reasonably" discussing "reasonable doubts" do not amount to a violation of the principle of non-disclosure of investigations at all. Compared to past cases, this one is vastly dwarfed in comparison, and cases have always been handled this way—the prosecutor still did nothing wrong!

What is more, the prosecutor still has a chance to turn out to be in the right, provided it can be proven that Lee Shuang-chuan was indeed the perpetrator, which would provide a chance to "redeem the stakes." After all, the "discovery of substantive truth" remains far more important than any "safeguard of procedural justice." By then, the people of Taiwan will naturally stand on the side of the prosecutor, as long as "dying to prove one's innocence" can be "turned completely around" into "committing suicide out of fear of punishment." No wonder that amidst the tension and joy, a stock trade was mistakenly placed in the wrong account.

However, prosecutor, you were truly wrong this time! Aside from the fact that the public cannot separate you from the police and is already dissatisfied with past standards of investigation, even if it were later proven that Lee Shuang-chuan was indeed the mastermind behind the crime, you still cannot escape the public's strict censure regarding procedure! When procedural justice—the foundation of substantive justice—is unstable, no matter how magnificent this mansion of the rule of law may be, living in it remains a nerve-wracking ordeal!

※ Published in: China Times / A15 / Forum Square