Taiwan carries out 1st execution in 2 years amid anti-death penalty pleas

Taiwan executed a death-row inmate on Friday, the 1st execution carried out under President Tsai Ing-wen's government and despite ongoing calls from rights groups to abolish the death penalty.

Lee Hung-chi was executed at a jail in southern Kaohsiung city Friday afternoon by firing squad, according to the justice ministry, for killing his ex-wife and 5-year-old daughter in 2014.

Lee stabbed his ex-wife to death outside the kindergarten their 2 daughters attended and then took 1 of the girls to his car, where he attempted to commit suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Lee survived after they were rescued but the girl died 2 months later despite treatment.

"His actions were brutal and ruthless ... and inflicted irreparable harms to the victims' families," deputy justice minister Chen Ming-tang told reporters, adding that the court had ruled there was no likelihood of Lee reforming.

Taiwan resumed capital punishment in 2010 after a 5-year hiatus, with the death penalty reserved for the most serious crimes such as aggravated murder and kidnapping.

Some politicians and rights groups have called for its abolition, but various opinion surveys show majority support for the death penalty.

RELATED: Taiwan: Human rights groups condemn political use of capital punishment

Chen said the government was gradually decreasing its use, but would not abolish it for now.

"Abolishing death sentence is an international trend and a long-term goal for the justice ministry ... but there is no consensus in our country," Chen said.

There are currently 42 prisoners on death row in Taiwan.

Lee's execution was the 1st since a former college student was put to death in May 2016 for killing 4 people in a random stabbing spree on a subway that shocked the generally peaceful island.

In 2012 the murder of a young boy in a playground reignited the debate over the death penalty after the suspect reportedly said he was anticipating free board and lodging in jail and would get a life sentence at most even if he were to kill 2 or 3 people.

Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net, August 31, 2018

Taiwan executes convict on president's birthday

Murderer was 1st convict to be executed since president took office in May 2016

A man who stabbed his former wife to death outside a school and caused the death of a 6-year-old daughter became the 1st death row convict to be executed since President Tsai Ing-wen came to office in May 2016.

Even though Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party includes several prominent opponents of capital punishment, the practice still receives overwhelming support from the public according to opinion polls.

Lee Hung-chi, 39, was shot Friday afternoon, the Ministry of Justice said. It added he formed a serious threat to law and order and showed no possibility of remorse.

Before the murder, he had already spent 11 months in prison for violating a restraining order and trying to kill both his daughters and commit suicide.

In April 2014, he first stabbed his ex-wife to death and then abducted 1 of their 2 daughters from the school.

Having driven to a mountainous area, he drugged the girl and burned charcoal inside the car in order to cause both of their deaths, according to the Apple Daily. He survived, but the girl died 2 months later, the Central News Agency reported.

The Kaohsiung District Court sentenced him to life in prison, a combination of a 15-year jail term for killing his wife and life for the death of their daughter.

However, the Taiwan High Court changed the sentences to life for the death of his ex-wife and capital punishment for the death of the girl. In 2016, the Supreme Court confirmed the verdict, making it the 1st death sentence issued since Tsai was sworn in as president.

The Ministry of Justice said the order for Lee's execution was signed on Thursday, and rejected reporters' questions about a link with the fact that the president was marking her 62nd birthday Friday.

Taiwan's most recent execution until now occurred just days before Tsai took over, when student Cheng Chieh was shot for killing 4 people on a Taipei Mass Rapid Transit train.

With Lee's death, there were reportedly still 42 convicts on death row in Taiwan.

Source: Taiwan News, August 31, 2018

⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Singapore executes three drug mules over two days

Singapore hanged three people for drug offences last week, bringing the total number of executions to 17 this year - the highest since 2003. These come a week before a constitutional challenge against the death penalty for drug offences is due to be heard. Singapore has some of the world's harshest anti-drug laws, which it says are a necessary deterrent to drug crime, a major issue elsewhere in South East Asia. Anyone convicted of trafficking - which includes selling, giving, transporting or administering - more than 15g of diamorphine, 30g of cocaine, 250g of methamphetamine and 500g of cannabis in Singapore will be handed the death sentence.

Florida | After nearly 50 years on death row, Tommy Zeigler seeks final chance at freedom

The Winter Garden Police chief was at a party on Christmas Eve 1975 when he received a phone call from his friend Tommy Zeigler, the owner of a furniture store on Dillard Street. “I’ve been shot, please hurry,” Zeigler told the chief as he struggled for breath. When police arrived at the store, Zeigler, 30, managed to unlock the door and then collapsed “with a gaping bullet hole through his lower abdomen,” court records show. In the store, detectives found a gruesome, bloody crime scene and several guns. Four other people — Zeigler’s wife, his in-laws and a laborer — lay dead.

Louisiana death row inmate freed after nearly 30 years as overturned conviction upends case

A Louisiana man who spent nearly 30 years on death row walked out of prison Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction and granted him bail. Jimmie Duncan, now in his 60s, was sentenced to death in 1998 for the alleged rape and drowning of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux — a case long clouded by disputed forensic testimony. His release comes months after a state judge ruled that the evidence prosecutors used to secure the conviction was unreliable and rooted in discredited bite-mark analysis.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Vietnam | Woman sentenced to death for poisoning 4 family members with cyanide

A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community. The Dong Nai People's Court found 39-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Bich guilty of murder and of illegally possessing and using toxic chemicals. Judges described her actions as "cold-blooded, inhumane and calculated," saying Bich exploited the trust of her victims and "destroyed every ethical bond within her family."

Afghanistan | Two Sons Of Executed Man Also Face Death Penalty, Says Taliban

The Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Khost said on Tuesday that two sons of a man executed earlier that day have also been sentenced to death. Their executions, he said, have been postponed because the heir of the victims is not currently in Afghanistan. Mostaghfer Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Khost, also released details of the charges against the man executed on Tuesday, identified as Mangal. He said Mangal was accused of killing members of a family.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium

The man had been convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including children, and was executed by one of their relatives, according to police. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities carried out the public execution of a man on Tuesday convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people attended the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost, which the Supreme Court said was the eleventh since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Utah | Ralph Menzies dies on death row less than 3 months after his execution was called off

Judge was set to consider arguments in December about Menzies’ mental fitness Ralph Menzies, who spent more than 3 decades on Utah’s death row for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker, has died. Menzies, 67, died of “presumed natural causes at a local hospital” Wednesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, said Menzies’ death “was a complete surprise.” “First off, I’d say that I’m numb. And second off, I would say, grateful,” Hunsaker told Utah News Dispatch. “I’m grateful that my family does not have to endure this for the holidays.”

Iran carries out public hanging of "double-rapist"

Iran on Tuesday publicly executed a man after convicting him of raping two women in the northern province of Semnan. The execution was carried out in the town of Bastam after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, the judiciary's official outlet Mizan Online reported. Mizan cited the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohammad Akbari, as saying the ruling had been 'confirmed and enforced after precise review by the Supreme Court'. The provincial authority said the man had 'deceived two women and committed rape by force and coercion', adding that he used 'intimidation and threats' to instil fear of reputational harm in the victims.

Burkina Faso to bring back death penalty

Burkina Faso's military rulers will bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018, the country's Council of Ministers announced on Thursday. "This draft penal code reinstates the death penalty for a number of offences, including high treason, acts of terrorism, acts of espionage, among others," stated the information service of the Burkinabe government. Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog