"The Passage of Freedom: The Trials of Hsu Tzu-chiang" If I Were Hsu Tzu-chiang? Survival Is a Practice

1995-09-29
Seeing my name and photo on the front page of the newspaper, claiming I am an accomplice in a kidnapping and murder?!

Go to the police station to make a statement?

"You really deserve a beating."
"Again, again, dammit."
"Bring me the chili spray."
"Go bring it in."
"Motherfucker, you didn't tell the truth. Now I'm asking you again, it hasn't been brought in yet, you'd better tell me nicely right now."
"......"

Unable to endure torture, I am forced to confess first...

Friends and family all said: "If you go, even if you didn't do it, they'll beat you until you did..."
(Translation: If you go, you'll be beaten into a confession regardless)

Fearing torture, I begin a life on the run

1996-05
I saw on the news that the other two defendants were sentenced to death. If they are executed, won't there be no dead to testify? I recently read in the newspaper about the Xizhi Trio case, where because the co-defendant was executed, the opportunity for cross-examination was lost...

Should I proactively surrender to authorities?

1996-06-24
Arriving in court, I saw neither a prosecutor nor a lawyer. The moment the judge saw me, he told me to just confess. I said I didn't do it, and he threw things and threw a tantrum. I kept saying I wanted to see a lawyer, but the judge completely ignored me...

The court sentenced me to death based on coerced confessions. Although civil society groups actively engaged in rescue efforts, extraordinary appeals and retrial requests repeatedly fell through...

※ This fictional scenario references the Chiou Ho-shun Case and the Su Chien-ho Case

Days on the run meant constantly hiding in fear. When I caught a cold, I didn't even dare see a doctor; my wife had to fake illness to get medicine from the clinic... How much longer must this life go on...

※ This fictional scenario references the Ch'en Lung-ch'i Case

My wife fell ill, and I had no choice but to ride my scooter out to find a pharmacy. Unexpectedly, I ran right into a police checkpoint and was caught, then sent to court...

※ This is a fictional scenario

1997-1999
The case went through several retrials. Lawyers and family members presented alibis, but to no avail—the court relied on co-defendants' confessions to hand down 6 death sentences...

2000
Death Sentence Finalized

The case is finalized, and execution could happen at any moment. My cellmate just left recently; a last will and testament is always necessary, getting everything in order so my family can move on with their lives sooner...

May 2000
Mother Hsü and lawyers sought help from the Taiwan Association for Prisoners' Rights / Taiwan Judicial Reform Foundation, and civil society groups began rescue efforts.

2001-2004
A Control Yuan investigation report pointed out numerous flaws in the case, and the Prosecutor-General also filed 4 extraordinary appeals, but none succeeded in opening a retrial. The legal team can think of no other way out; constitutional interpretation seems to be the only path left.

File for constitutional interpretation, but will the Grand Justices accept the case?

2004-07-23
The Grand Justices issued Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 582, declaring that parts of Supreme Court precedents (Tai-Shang-Tzu No. 2423 of the 31st Year of the Republic, Tai-Shang-Tzu No. 419 of the 46th Year of the Republic, and other similar precedents) concerning "statements by co-defendants"—which bypassed statutory investigative procedures for testimonial evidence and improperly deprived defendants of their right to cross-examination—shall no longer be applied.

However, that very afternoon, the Supreme Court issued a rare statement in the name of its President expressing regret over the Interpretation, sparking a conflict between the two institutions...

2004-07-27
The Supreme Court held a Criminal Division meeting, establishing a special response task force for the impact of Interpretation No. 582, stating it would petition for a supplementary interpretation. Pending a supplementary interpretation by the Grand Justices' meeting, it would not rule out suspending trials in similar cases. Furthermore, the spokesperson for the Supreme Court Criminal Division held a press conference on the morning of the 28th, stating that it would continue to apply the precedents declared unconstitutional...

The Prosecutor-General filed the 5th extraordinary appeal.

What will the Supreme Court do?

The Grand Justices deemed it suspected of intervening in an individual case, and the case was not accepted.

※ This is a fictional scenario

Death Sentence Finalized

Stuck in the death row with Ah-shun, awaiting the possibility of a reopened trial...

2004-2005

The Prosecutor-General filed the 5th extraordinary appeal, the Supreme Court remanded the case, and a retrial was finally successfully opened.

During the retrial proceedings, the lawyers presented the autopsy report by forensic pathologist Yang Jih-sung from back then. Dr. Yang's report stated that there was no sulfuric acid splashed on the body, but the result from the court's referral to the Institute of Forensic Medicine to examine and dissect the photos was that sulfuric acid splashing "cannot be ruled out."

Whom will the court believe?

The court gave credence to forensic pathologist Yang Jih-sung's autopsy report, concluding there was no sulfuric acid and no joint participation in the murder, sentencing him to life imprisonment.

The court gave credence to the Institute of Forensic Medicine's appraisal report, concluding that sulfuric acid was splashed on the body, determining that he helped purchase sulfuric acid and jointly participated in the murder, sentencing him to death.

Another appeal. In the 2012 retrial, two public defenders came for a lawyer-client interview.

The public defenders brought a reply letter from the police department and some case file materials, saying: "The judge said a few days ago that we should take over the defense; the judge sent us here because the case must be concluded before May 19."

They also said: "Your case cannot possibly result in a death sentence. You've already been locked up for a long time; if you confess under the Criminal Speedy Trial Act, your sentence can be reduced."

Confess and you can leave prison, and the case will be over...

Trade a confession for freedom?

Exhausted by the litigation, I might as well just confess to end everything early...

※ This fictional scenario references a co-defendant in the Chiou Ho-shun case.
Chiou Ho-shun, Lin Kun-ming, and Wu Shu-chen continued appealing up to the eleventh retrial; Wu Chin-heng died before the conclusion of the tenth retrial, while the other eight defendants were separately and successively sentenced to terms ranging from 8 to 16 years prior to the tenth retrial. At that time, they abandoned their appeals, yet in their statements abandoning the appeal, they still maintained their innocence, explaining that they were simply exhausted by the litigation, that the sentences imposed were close to the period of detention already served, and that since the law dictates detention periods can offset sentences, they had no choice but to abandon the litigation and shouted their grievances even after getting out of prison.

If I didn't do it, why should I confess? I could never use the Criminal Speedy Trial Act because doing so requires a confession. I cannot confess to something I didn't do; what I want is the truth, the facts, and my innocence.

Besides, I clearly already had a lawyer, so why could the court still assign public defenders to approach me...

After confessing, the judge kept their promise and spared him the death penalty, commuting it to a life sentence, and then reduced the sentence under the Criminal Speedy Trial Act. Could the sentence and the years in detention be offset? A grand debate broke out in the legal community over this, and this case became a bizarre incident in judicial history where someone was convicted yet never sent to prison.

However, even if released after sentence offsetting, he would carry the stigma of kidnapping for ransom for the rest of his life...

※ This is a fictional scenario

The court rushed to hand down a guilty verdict before the Criminal Speedy Trial Act took effect, upholding the life sentence, and asked if I was willing to pay a bail of 2.5 million NTD. If paid, I could leave prison immediately; if not, I would have to wait until after midnight.

Should bail be paid?

Because of the litigation, the family had long been penniless, and it was simply impossible to raise 2.5 million in a short time...

2012-05-19 00:00
Locked up for 16 years, I can finally leave prison... but the case is still not over.

Released from the detention center due to the enactment of the Criminal Speedy Trial Act, I am still adapting to many aspects of life. The JRF asked me to help out as a volunteer, encouraging me to share my story with more people...

More and more people are joining the rescue efforts after learning about this story. Nearly a hundred people attend every court session to follow the trial's progress. Advocacy activities continue to expand.

2015-09-01
Amid everyone's eager anticipation, the High Court handed down its first "acquittal"! After waiting 20 painful years, Mother shed happy tears for the very first time.

2016-10-13
The Supreme Court dismissed the prosecutor's appeal, finalizing the acquittal. 21 years of torment have finally come to an end.

This 21-year journey is not only Hsü Tzu-chiang's practice test, but also Taiwan's judiciary's practice test.