Do Not Let Sloppy Justice Take Innocent Lives! Statement on the Dismissal of the Extraordinary Appeal in the Hsu Tzu-chiang Case

Following the final conviction and death sentence of Hsu Tzu-chiang in the third instance on April 28, 2000, defense attorneys filed four extraordinary appeal petitions (May 2, May 18, June 22 of the same year, and March 2, 2001). The Judicial Reform Foundation held a press conference in support on May 17, and Control Yuan members Chiang Pêng-chien, Li Shen-i, and Huang Ch'in-chen formed an investigative team to conduct an in-depth probe. In early January 2001, they completed an investigation report clearly pointing out procedural negligence in the case and petitioned the Supreme Prosecutor's Office to initiate an extraordinary appeal. Prosecutor-General Lu Jen-fa subsequently filed the extraordinary appeal on April 3, 2001. Unexpectedly, after reviewing the case on the papers, the Supreme Court decided to dismiss the extraordinary appeal filed by the Supreme Prosecutor's Office, plunging Hsu Tzu-chiang once again into the imminent threat of execution.
Faced with unverified doubts in the case, the Supreme Court sentenced Hsu Tzu-chiang to death based solely on the confessions of co-defendants and judicial inferences, yet adamantly refused to remand the case to the High Court for reinvestigation, sitting idly by as questionable judicial verdicts lacking sufficient evidence deprived people of their lives. Such sloppy and arrogant mentalities will only repeat the tragedies of judicial murders!

In 2000, prior to the completion of the Control Yuan's investigation, the Ministry of Justice swiftly executed the death penalty in the Lu Cheng case. This case, which relied solely on confessions obtained through police misconduct during interrogation, not only shocked society but also left his family unconvinced. To this day, every Thursday, they continue to protest in front of the Legislative Yuan, seeking legislative protection for the voluntariness of confessions during police interrogations. Today, when the Supreme Prosecutor's Office was willing to face the doubts in the case and file an extraordinary appeal, the Supreme Court ignored the shoddy procedures of the original judgment and disregarded the principle that every effort must be made to preserve life in death penalty cases, summarily dismissing the extraordinary appeal. By carrying out executions while the doubts in the case remain unclarified, how can such a court convince the defendant's family? How can it earn public trust? And how can Taiwan possibly rank among nations that respect human rights?

We harshly condemn the Supreme Court's refusal to engage in self-reflection and its casual disregard for human rights, and we fail to understand why, even when the Supreme Prosecutor's Office deemed it necessary to reinvestigate the case, the Supreme Court would fear reviewing and investigating the case anew. Why refuse to return the case to judicial remedies for resolution? Why adamantly reject returning a fair and impartial trial to the parties involved? When faced with criticism yet refusing to reflect, having the door of remedies in name only while lacking any path to relief—this is the true mastermind behind the disappearance of truth and the concealment of justice!

We can only earnestly implore the Prosecutor-General to file another extraordinary appeal, to strictly safeguard the execution of the death penalty in Taiwan, to guard Taiwan's human rights standards, and to uphold the quality of Taiwan's judicial verdicts!

Attachments

1. Issues and Controversies in the Hsu Tzu-chiang Case