2023 Autumn Reading Group｜Key Readers for Prison External Inspection Reports Needed!

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

~ Concurrent Opinion to Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 755, Grand Justice Hsu Tzong-li

The Grand Justices declared that inmates enjoy the same protection of constitutional fundamental rights, yet this should not merely be a slogan. Inmates are individuals whose freedom has been deprived due to crime. Following this deprivation, their daily lives are practically controlled entirely by the state, leaving them with little autonomy over their destiny. Furthermore, the high walls of prisons not only isolate inmates physically, but also render the lives of those within invisible to society; the various problems and difficulties occurring inside are not necessarily known to the outside world. If we hope that the protection of inmates' fundamental rights is more than just a slogan, mechanisms for protecting their relevant rights must be established.

In 2020, the newly amended Prison Act was promulgated and implemented. One of its key focuses is the establishment of independent external inspection panels in various prisons. The conception of this system is to make prisons as transparent as possible, thereby reducing human rights violations on one hand, and allowing the outside world to better understand whether prisons are encountering any problems or difficulties on the other, creating an opportunity for improvement by facing these matters squarely. To implement the principle of transparency, the new Prison Act requires prison external inspection panels to submit reports so that the outside world can better understand the actual conditions of prisons, and thereby review the operation of this prison external inspection mechanism.

The Judicial Reform Foundation has consistently monitored the operation of prison external inspection following the implementation of the new Act. We have read and provided comments on the inspection reports submitted by the first-term panels across all prisons. In November 2022, the prison external inspection panels underwent a turnover; the second-term prison external inspection panels assumed office and have successively submitted inspection reports for three quarters.

We hope to invite friends from all walks of life to read the prison external inspection reports starting from the second term, reading them one by one, sharing insights or questions one by one, and feeding them back to the external inspection panels of each prison. This lets the external inspection members know that the reports they submit are genuinely read, receives reader feedback, and gives them greater motivation to engage in external inspection activities and draft reports.

We invite friends who care about prison issues and wish to contribute to become key readers of prison external inspection reports. During the reading process, you can share any insights, questions, or suggestions, looking forward to the day when our ideas bring about change.

Online Registration

Time

• 9/2 (Sat.) 10:00-12:00 Online Briefing Session
• Saturdays from September to December, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  ※ Suspended flexibly during midterms and finals. The quantity of inspection reports this time should take a little over a month to finish reading. Once completed, sessions will pause until new reports are published, at which point they will resume.

Format

Online only, no physical sessions

Prerequisites

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

Recruitment Quota

20 people (If applications exceed this number, selection will favor those able to participate fully and with higher motivation)

Content

• Group reading of external inspection reports from various prisons. Finally, synthesizing everyone's insights or questions to submit to the external inspection panels of each prison.
• Depending on participants' questions, we may invite rehabilitated individuals, practitioners, or external inspection panel members to share their experiences, or arrange prison visits.

※ This reading activity for prison external inspection reports is co-organized by the Judicial Reform Foundation and the "Faint Glimmer - Prison External Inspection Report Reading Project and Death Row Inmate Correspondence Project under the University Social Responsibility Practice Plan" hosted by Professor Lu Ying-chieh of National Chung Cheng University.