Taipei, Feb. 12 (CNA) The Taiwan government is hoping to one day abolish capital punishment, but until then, death penalties must be carried out in accordance with the proper legal procedure, according to Justice Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三).
In an interview with CNA earlier this month, Chiu said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), like her predecessor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), sees abolition of the death penalty in Taiwan as a long-term goal.
However, extensive public discussion of the controversial issue would be required before that goal can be achieved and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has not set any timeframe for it, Chiu said.
While human rights groups such as the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty have been calling for an end to capital punishment, it will take time to obtain public consensus on the issue, he said.
In the meantime, capital punishment will continue to be carried out in Taiwan in accordance with the legal procedure, Chiu said.
Although Taiwan has ratified two international conventions that are seen as legal foundations for ending the death penalty, they are not binding on that issue, he said.
Chiu said that since he took office in May 2016 as minister of justice, the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office has not sent him any orders for the execution of death row prisoners, who now number 43.
Explaining the legal procedure in Taiwan, he said if the death penalty is handed down in the lower courts, the case must go all the way to the Supreme Court.
If the Supreme Court upholds the verdict, the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office then reviews the matter and decides if to carry out the sentence, after which an execution order is sent to the MOJ for the justice minister's signature, Chiu said.
Even at that point, the MOJ has the right to assess the case and decide whether to sign the execution order, he added.
The death penalty remains a controversial issue in Taiwan, years after its Legislature in 2009 ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, the two conventions that Chiu referred to as the legal foundations for the abolition of capital punishment.
Meanwhile, Chiu said his ministry is working to improve prison conditions in Taiwan by providing more beds so that inmates can each have one.
Currently, Taiwan's prison population is 62,000, while the number of prison beds is 23,000, which indicates that about 40,000 prisoners are sleeping on the floor.
"Frankly, such conditions are inhumane," Chiu said. He said three new prisons are under construction, each with a capacity of 4,000 inmates, while existing facilities are being expanded.
Chiu said he is also hoping to implement a prison rehabilitation program that would provide training for inmates to learn new skills and increase their chances of entering the job market after their release.
Source: Focus Taiwan, Wang Yang-yu, Hsiao Po-wen, Frances Huang, February 12, 2018
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
