Statement | Pursuant to Article 3 of the Rules for the Execution of Death Penalties, We Request the Executing Prosecutor to Stay the Execution of the Death Penalty

Paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the Rules for the Execution of Death Penalties provides: "After the Ministry of Justice orders and approves the execution of a death penalty case, it shall immediately dispatch the case to the Supreme Prosecutor's Office for forwarding to the relevant High Prosecutor's Office or its branch office, which shall designate an executing prosecutor to lawfully execute the death penalty within three days. However, if the executing prosecutor discovers that the facts of the case truly provide grounds for a retrial or extraordinary appeal, they may telegraph the Ministry of Justice within three days to request a re-examination."

Pursuant to the aforementioned provision, even if both the Minister of Justice and the President have approved the death penalty execution order, the executing prosecutor at the High Prosecutor's Office must still review whether there are grounds for an extraordinary appeal regarding the execution of the case. If such grounds exist, execution shall be stayed, and the Ministry of Justice shall be requested to re-examine the matter.

In accordance with the intent of Judgment No. 8 of the Constitutional Court of 2024 (hereinafter referred to as "Constitutional Interpretation No. 8"), death row inmates, including Huang Lin-k'ai, are entitled to request the Prosecutor-General to file an extraordinary appeal pursuant to the intent of said judgment. It can also be discerned from the intent and spirit of the judgment that the competent authority shall not carry out executions arbitrarily. If the death penalty is executed directly before relief proceedings are initiated, such execution would violate the intent of Constitutional Interpretation No. 8 and be unlawful.

In light of this, we request the executing prosecutor, based on their official authority and legal conviction loyal to the intent of Constitutional Interpretation No. 8, to suspend the execution of the death penalty pursuant to Paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the aforementioned Rules, and request the Ministry of Justice to re-examine the execution of the death penalty in this case.

Issuing Organizations

• Judicial Reform Foundation
• Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty