Workshop | Key Readers for Prison External Visitation Reports: We Need You!

Inmates are citizens wearing "prisoner uniforms," not "castaways" excluded from the protection of fundamental constitutional rights.

~ Concurring Opinion to Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 755, Grand Justice Hsu Tzung-li

The Grand Justices have declared that inmates are equally entitled to the protection of fundamental constitutional rights; however, this should not merely remain a slogan. Inmates are individuals deprived of their freedom due to criminal offenses, and following such deprivation, practically their entire daily lives are placed in the hands of the state, leaving them with little autonomy over their destiny. Moreover, the high walls of correctional institutions not only physically isolate inmates but also render those living inside invisible to society, making the various problems or difficulties occurring within unknown to the outside world. If we wish to ensure that the protection of inmates' fundamental rights is more than just a slogan, we must establish relevant rights-protection mechanisms.

In 2010, the newly amended Prison Act was promulgated and implemented. One of its key focuses was the establishment of an independent external visitation committee in each correctional institution. The concept behind this system is to maximize the transparency of correctional institutions, thereby reducing human rights violations on one hand, and allowing the outside world to better understand whether these institutions are facing any problems or difficulties—thus creating an opportunity for improvement by directly confronting these issues. To fulfill the principle of transparency, the new Prison Act requires correctional institutions' external visitation committees to submit reports so that the public can gain a deeper understanding of actual conditions inside correctional institutions and examine the operation of this external visitation mechanism.

The Judicial Reform Foundation has consistently monitored the operation of prison external visitation following the implementation of the new Act. We have reviewed and provided commentary on the external visitation reports submitted by the various correctional institutions during their first term. In November 2022, the prison external visitation committees underwent a rotation; the second term of external visitation committees took office and has since successively submitted two quarters of visitation reports.

We wish to invite friends from all walks of life to join us in reading the prison external visitation reports starting from the second term—reading them report by report, sharing insights or questions report by report, and providing feedback to the external visitation committees of each correctional institution. We want the external visitation committee members to know that their submitted reports are genuinely being read, that reader feedback is being offered, and to give them greater motivation to engage in external visitation activities and draft reports.

We invite friends who care about prison issues and wish to contribute their efforts to become key readers of prison external visitation reports. Throughout the reading process, you are welcome to raise any insights, questions, or suggestions, while looking forward to the day when ideas bring about change.

Online Registration

Time

• 7/1 (Sat) 10:00-12:00 Online Briefing Session
• Every Saturday morning from 10:00 to 12:00 between July and August (7/8, 7/15, 7/22, 7/29, 8/5, 8/12, 8/19, 8/26)

Participation Method

Exclusively online, no physical attendance

Eligibility Requirements

Care about prison issues and possess a curious, inquiry-driven mindset.

Recruitment Capacity

25 participants (if applications exceed capacity, selection will favor those able to participate fully and demonstrating higher motivation)

Content

• Group reading of external visitation reports from various correctional institutions. Ultimately, everyone's insights or questions will be compiled and submitted to the external visitation committees of the respective correctional institutions.
• Depending on participants' questions, former inmates, practitioners, and external visitation committee members may be invited to share their experiences, or institutional visits may be arranged.

※ This prison external visitation report reading activity is co-organized by the Judicial Reform Foundation and the "University Social Responsibility Project: Faint Gleam - Prison External Visitation Report Reading Project & Death Row Correspondence Project" hosted by Professor Lu Ying-chieh of National Chung Cheng University. The current term is the Summer 2023 Study Group, and the subsequent term will be the Autumn 2023 Study Group. The workshop is tentatively scheduled for early September, and the study group period will run from September 2023 to January 2024.