Taiwan’s Constitutional Court says it needs more time to consider a case calling into question the legality of the death penalty. Death row inmates are arguing the punishment is unconstitutional.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:0055-year-old Xu Ziqiang regularly gets letters from prisoners in Taiwan complaining of injustices.
00:09They write to him seeking help, believing he will understand.
00:13Xu spent 12 years on death row here for the kidnap and murder of a businessman, a crime
00:20he did not commit.
00:22He says that every night in his cell, he would dress in smart clothes prepared by his family,
00:29awaiting his execution.
01:00Now exonerated, the former truck driver works for a non-profit, advocating for judicial
01:07reform and an end to capital punishment, a cause that has recently been brought to court
01:14by the 37 prisoners still on Taiwan's death row.
01:19Here at the constitutional court, lawyers for Taiwan's death row inmates argued that
01:24the punishment is unconstitutional, that it goes against the right of existence that's
01:29enshrined in the country's constitution.
01:32The landmark hearing also heard from the government, which argued that the issue of the death penalty
01:37should not be decided by a court, but by legislators.
01:42Over the years, neither of the main two political parties has moved to abolish the death penalty,
01:48which has strong support among the public.
01:51According to surveys commissioned by the Justice Ministry, around 80 percent of Taiwanese want
01:57to keep the punishment.
02:00Constitutional law expert Jimmy Xu Jiaxin, who gave an advisory opinion to the court,
02:06says Taiwanese society is not ready to abolish the death penalty.
02:11As a post-confusion society, by that I mean, you know, we still have some confusion legacies.
02:18And if you dig into the traditional Chinese law, it's quite clear that, especially with
02:26regard to the most serious crimes, the retributive aspect of punishment is quite clear.
02:36But the number of executions in Taiwan has gradually gone down since the country transitioned
02:42in the 1990s from authoritarianism to democracy.
02:46And no executions have been carried out since 2020.
02:51The Constitutional Court was meant to make its decision on the abolition of capital punishment
02:56by next week, but it has now announced it will delay this for a maximum of two more
03:01months.
03:03Xu was released in 2012, but in the 12 years that he was on death row, Taiwan executed
03:10more than 40 people.
03:12He still has nightmares.
03:14And to him, it's clear the death penalty should not exist.
03:34Every day after work now, Xu goes for a walk, with no plan in mind and no set course.
03:41He says his years behind bars have taught him to cherish what he has today.
03:47The freedom to walk outside, his family and his life.