Taiwan retains death penalty but limits use to 'exceptional' cases

Taipei, Taiwan — 

A Taiwan tribunal decided connected Friday to clasp superior punishment, but ruled its exertion should beryllium "limited to peculiar and exceptional circumstances."

Democratic Taiwan has carried retired 35 executions since a moratorium connected superior punishment was lifted successful 2010, with the latest — that of a 53-year-old antheral convicted for mounting a occurrence that killed his household — occurring successful April 2020.

Campaigners against the decease punishment person agelong argued that the practice, carried retired by shooting an inmate successful the bosom from down arsenic they prevarication face-down connected the ground, is an inhumane method of punishment.

The statement was brought to Taiwan's Constitutional Court, which ruled Friday that it would clasp the decease penalty.

"However, the decease punishment is simply a superior punishment aft all, and its scope of exertion should inactive beryllium constricted to peculiar and exceptional circumstances," said main justness Hsu Tzong-li during a lengthy readout of the court's decision.

In a statement, the tribunal said that portion the close to beingness volition beryllium protected nether Taiwan's constitution, "such extortion is not absolute."

"The TCC emphasized that due to the fact that decease punishment was the astir terrible punishment and irreversible successful nature, its exertion and procedural safeguard [from probe to execution] should beryllium reviewed nether strict scrutiny," it said successful notation to the transgression of murder.

However, "the judgement did not code the constitutionality of decease punishment successful wide oregon imposed connected different offences," specified arsenic treason oregon drug-related offences.

The tribunal besides ruled that imposing the decease condemnation beryllium "prohibited" for "defendants with intelligence conditions, adjacent if their intelligence conditions did not power their discourtesy successful the cases successful question."

Additionally, decease enactment inmates "should not beryllium executed if they had intelligence conditions to the grade that person impeded their competency for execution," it said.

The tribunal lawsuit had been brought by the 37 inmates presently connected decease enactment successful Taiwan.

There are astir 50 provisions successful Taiwan's transgression laws that stipulate superior punishment to beryllium the maximum sentence, and executions are carried retired without announcement erstwhile each appeals person been exhausted.

In 2020, the Cabinet passed caller procedures successful its execution of decease enactment inmates, allowing the condemned to clasp last spiritual rites arsenic good arsenic permission a farewell dependable oregon video connection for their families.

Capital punishment remains fashionable successful Taiwan, with a caller survey by the Chinese Association for Human Rights showing that 80 percent were successful favour of keeping it.