In the labyrinth of justice, we hit walls, we weep, but we never give up.

Taiwan's Most Internationally Noted Death Penalty Wrongful Conviction Case

In 1989, under heavy pressure to solve the case, Chiou Ho-shun was sentenced to death without a fair trial. In 2011, during the eleventh retrial, the death sentence was finalized, leaving him at constant risk of execution. On April 13 this year, the Taiwan High Court once again dismissed the defense team's motion for a retrial, and the team has currently filed an interlocutory appeal. Chiou Ho-shun was 28 years old the day he was deprived of his liberty; today he is 56, having spent 10,151 days behind bars—28 years of wrongful grievances, amounting to precisely half of his life.

Throughout the Chiou Ho-shun case, neither the murder weapon nor bloody clothing was ever found, nor has the body of Lu Cheng been discovered to this day; the skull and limbs of K'o Hung Yu-lan also remain missing. There is no physical evidence in the case capable of directly linking the defendants and others to the crimes. The accusations in both cases were built entirely upon the confessions of the defendants and others during the investigative stage. Furthermore, the fingerprints and cassette tape associated with the ransom note both indicated that the true perpetrator was someone else, yet this was deliberately ignored by the courts. Even though both eyewitness testimony and physical evidence indicated that Chiou Ho-shun was not the perpetrator who committed the kidnapping and murder, and even though a conscientious police officer was willing to step forward and testify regarding the torture Chiou Ho-shun suffered, the judiciary still refuses to retry the Chiou Ho-shun case or muster the courage to admit its mistake.

The pro bono defense team believes that wrongful convictions stem from judicial misjudgments. While misjudgments are terrifying, turning a blind eye and refusing to admit to a misjudgment out of a lack of conscience is even more terrifying. Only when adjudicators uphold their conscience in confronting errors can the judiciary truly win the people's trust. A retired police officer surnamed Wu is willing to speak out about the truth of Chiou Ho-shun's torture, and the judiciary should open its doors and listen, demonstrating through court hearings the judiciary's prudent attitude toward finalized death penalty cases and its commitment to pursuing transitional justice.

Introduction to the Pro Bono Defense Team for the Chiou Ho-shun Case

The eleven defendants in the Chiou Ho-shun case originally retained their own separate counsel. Beginning in 2007, with the assistance of the Legal Aid Foundation, Attorneys Yu Po-hsiang and Lin Hung-wen shouldered the litigation work of the Chiu case and organized the pro bono defense team for the Chiou Ho-shun case. Convenor Attorney Yu Po-hsiang recalled his reasons for taking on the Chiou Ho-shun case initially:

At that time, Lin Yung-sung, the head of the Legal Aid Foundation's Taipei Branch, asked me to take it, and I couldn't refuse Lin Yung-sung.
After taking it and reviewing the case files, it was obvious they simply hadn't done it!

However, because the Chiou Ho-shun case involved a large number of participants, complex facts, and protracted procedures, the JRF was enlisted to help organize a legal team, pooling collective efforts to defend the Chiu case. Over the past nine years, many partners have participated and contributed without regret. The list of attorneys who have served as counsel in the litigation is as follows: Li Sheng-hsiung, Yu Po-hsiang, Lin Hung-wen, Chou Hsin-hung, Ku Li-hsiung, Wei Ch'ao-tsung, Cheng K'ai-hung, Chou Han-wei, Sung I-hsin, Lin Chün-hung, Sun Pin, and Lo Wan-t'ing. The pro bono defense team for the Chiou Ho-shun case is currently the longest-running active defense team in Taiwan, having filed 3 retrial motions and 2 extraordinary appeal motions to date. Despite suffering adverse rulings repeatedly, they continue to fight on the path of pursuing justice, sustained by a core conviction.

2016 Wrongful Conviction Rescue Practical Course

To recruit new blood among attorneys, the JRF has designed a series of training courses. The Chiou Ho-shun defense team will provide a detailed explanation of the factual background and legal analysis of this case, invite a conscientious police officer and other parties involved to share the case details, and conclude with the volunteer team introducing the origins and course of the rescue operations, new attorneys sharing their learning reflections, and a seminar to discuss potential future litigation strategies. This aims to allow new attorneys to thoroughly understand the Chiou Ho-shun case, join our ranks, and become part of the Chiou Ho-shun defense team!

• Eligibility: Individuals holding an attorney license (trainee attorneys are also welcome)
• Event Schedule:
  • Session 1: May 25 (Wed.) 19:00-21:30 
  • Session 2: June 08 (Wed.) 19:00-21:30
  • Session 3: June 22 (Wed.) 19:00-21:30
• Event Location: Taipei Bar Association

Register for Course

Instructor Lineup

Attorney Yu Po-hsiang (Standing Executive Director of the Taipei Bar Association, Board Director of the Taiwan Association for Innocence)
Attorney Cheng K'ai-hung (Standing Executive Member of the Judicial Reform Foundation)
Attorney Chou Han-wei (Director of the Staff Attorney Center, Taipei Branch of the Legal Aid Foundation)
Attorney Lin Chün-hung (Chair of the Judicial Reform Committee of the Taipei Bar Association)
Attorney Wei Ch'ao-tsung (Member of the Criminal Law Committee of the Taipei Bar Association)
Attorney Sun Pin (Standing Executive Member of the Judicial Reform Foundation)

Pro Bono Attorney Training Courses

Contact Person

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. A-shun thanks you for your rescue efforts!

Staff Attorney Huang Ying-chia, Judicial Reform Foundation

• E-mail：hyc@jrf.org.tw
• Phone：02-25231178#23

Related Information

• JRF - Chiou Ho-shun Case
• Chiou Ho-shun Pao-Pi Volunteer Team
• Chiou Ho-shun Blog
• Chiou Ho-shun Case Seminar