Talk Collaboration

Case Introduction: On March 24, 1991, the "Wu Couple Murder Case" occurred in Hsichih. The prosecutor indicted Ch'en Chien-hao (蘇建和), Liu Bing-lang (劉秉郎), and Chuang Lin-xun (莊林勳) based solely on the defendants' confessions without attaching any evidence. The confessions obtained through torture and the fingerprint identifications used to solve the case also vanished... On February 4, 1995, the death penalty was finalized. On May 18, 2000, the Taiwan High Court ruled to initiate a retrial. On August 31, 2012, they were acquitted in the third retrial. From detention to a finalized acquittal, the three individuals endured a long journey of approximately 21 years.

Course Objectives: The Ch'en Chien-hao case is the first case in Taiwan's judicial history where a finalized death penalty was overturned and changed to an acquittal. Through this topic, students can gain an initial glimpse into the landscape of criminal justice, understand the severe human rights violations in past criminal investigations, and develop a deeper understanding of due process, the presumption of innocence, criminal justice procedures, and the plight of wrongful conviction victims.

Case Introduction: In 1995, Hsu Tzu-chiang (徐自強) was wrongfully implicated in a kidnapping and murder case. There was no direct evidence in this case, only confessions from two other defendants. Hsu Tzu-chiang was even able to provide an alibi for that day, yet he was still sentenced to death. Afterward, he endured 7 death sentences, 2 life imprisonments, 1 Judicial Yuan Interpretation, and 5 extraordinary appeals. On September 1, 2015, the Taiwan High Court delivered a verdict of acquittal. On October 13, 2016, the Supreme Court dismissed the prosecutor's appeal, finalizing his acquittal and clearing his name after 21 years of injustice.

During the rescue process of this case, the pro bono defense counsel successfully petitioned the Grand Justices for a constitutional interpretation. The resulting Interpretation No. 582 in 2004 marked a crucial turning point for Taiwan's judiciary in bidding farewell to the era of conviction based solely on co-defendants' confessions.

Course Objectives: Explore judicial injustice and the causes of wrongful convictions through the rebirth journey of a survivor from death row, understand key reforms in Taiwan's judicial human rights, critically examine the presumption of innocence, and advance to discuss topics such as Interpretation No. 582 and the Criminal Speedy Trial Act.

Case Introduction: In 1988, Chiou Ho-shun (邱和順) and 12 other defendants were accused of jointly committing the 1987 "Miao-li Female Insurance Agent Ko Hung Yu-lan Dismemberment Case" and the "Hsinchu Schoolchild Lu Cheng Kidnapping Case." After undergoing 11 retrials, the Chiou Ho-shun case resulted in a finalized death sentence in 2011. However, both major criminal cases lacked physical evidence, relying solely on 288 self-contradictory confession records and a flawed voiceprint analysis report for the final verdict. Chiou Ho-shun has been detained since 1988 for over 36 years and is currently still waiting in prison.

Course Objectives: Chiou Ho-shun is the death row inmate who has been detained the longest in Taiwan's judicial history without yet being vindicated. Through this topic, students can gain an initial glimpse into the dilemmas of wrongful conviction rescue, understand the gap between "legal provisions" and "actual implementation," and develop a deeper understanding of due process and the presumption of innocence.

Case Introduction: Lo Ming-ts'un (羅明村), serving as the chief of the criminal investigation division at a police precinct in 1997, was accused of accepting a bribe of 500,000 NTD from gangsters to shield the real culprit of a shooting case. The case lacked physical evidence and relied mainly on testimony obtained through improper interrogation to secure a conviction. Regarding the time the court determined Lo Ming-ts'un met with the briber, he had an alibi; the lie detector report used as corroborating evidence for the conviction was also flawed. After multiple trials, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison with finality in 2009.

Upon reviewing the interrogation and lie detector recordings from the investigation station during the first retrial, the court faced the flaws in the interrogation and lie detector test, reversing the decision to an acquittal. However, the prosecutor appealed beyond the statutory period, and the Supreme Court still revoked and remanded the case, ultimately finalizing a guilty verdict.

Course Objectives: Through the introduction of wrongful and erroneous cases, enable students to identify the primary factors leading to wrongful convictions, understand judicial procedures and discuss the concept of procedural justice, and cultivate civic awareness in paying attention to wrongful convictions and participating in judicial reform.

Case Introduction: While serving as a civil servant, Tai Li-shen (戴立紳) discovered that his superior instructed him to keep false accounts and misappropriate public funds for private use. Driven by his conscience, he confessed through the ethics office to the Agency Against Corruption and provided strong evidence to assist the investigation. The court deemed that he was courageous in reporting without fear of pressure and issued a "sentence exemption judgment." However, in 2016, because of this judgment, he was dismissed from his position by the Hsinchu County Government and barred from re-employment for life, a status that could not be changed even after exhausting judicial remedies.

Course Objectives: This case reveals the inadequacies of our country's "whistleblower protection system." It encourages learners to think about the role of citizens in upholding social justice and develops civic action capacity to promote human rights protection and institutional reform.

Case Introduction: Wang Lung-ch'ang (王隆昌) was temporarily added as one of the 17 review committee members for the Nangang Exhibition Center engineering project in 2003, participating in only one selection process. In 2008, the Special Investigation Division investigated and determined that the winning company had bribed him. The case had no accounting books, no wiretapping transcripts, no objective contact records, and his account showed no abnormal financial flows. The court convicted Wang Lung-ch'ang of accepting bribes and sentenced him to 7 years and 8 months in prison based solely on the self-contradictory testimony of an accomplice witness. In 2013, the Control Yuan investigated and found numerous doubts; in 2015, an extraordinary appeal was dismissed, and he still eagerly looks forward to the judiciary returning his innocence.

Course Objectives: Discuss evidence collection and application, investigative procedural justice, and trial bias, and prompt learners to think about how to prevent wrongful convictions through a sound legal system, cultivating actionable knowledge and capability to pay attention to wrongful convictions and participate in judicial reform.