TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Constitutional Court issued a landmark ruling on Friday (Sept. 20), announcing that the death penalty does not violate the Constitution but must be applied more narrowly. The court ruled that a unanimous decision by a judicial panel is required to impose the death penalty, and that individuals with mental disorders should not be sentenced to death.
The decision came after 37 death row inmates filed petitions challenging its constitutionality. The court said that these inmates can request the attorney-general to file an extraordinary appeal (非常上訴) if they believe their crimes are not "the most serious" or if they were sentenced to death without a unanimous panel decision. In some cases, the attorney-general may independently decide to file such an appeal.
Death row inmates Shen Chi-wu (沈岐武), Lin Wang-jen (林旺仁), and Lin Yu-ju (林于如) are currently exempt from execution pending legal amendments, as they were found to have varying degrees of mental illness.
Among the petitioners is Chiu He-shun (邱和順), who has been detained for over 35 years, and Wang Hsin-fu (王信福), the oldest at 72. Chiu led a kidnapping gang in 1987, responsible for the murders of insurance agent Ko Hung Yu-lan (柯洪玉蘭) and a child. Wang, convicted of orchestrating the murder of two police officers in 1990, returned to Taiwan in 2004 for medical treatment and was subsequently apprehended.
The only female petitioner, Lin Yu-ju, was sentenced to death in 2013 for murdering her mother, mother-in-law, and husband to collect insurance payouts. Her case made her Taiwan's fourth female death row inmate.
Notably absent from the petitioners is Huang Fu-kang (黃富康), who died of psychogenic shock last October. Huang, influenced by the Japanese manga "Battle Angel Alita" (銃夢), murdered a landlord in 2009, believing that killing could change his fate.
The court's decision to uphold the death penalty while tightening its application is a pivotal moment in Taiwan's legal system. The ruling's impact on future death penalty cases will be closely monitored.