Taiwan mulls death penalty for drunk driving, DUI

TAIWAN: Taiwan plans to ramp up punishments for those who cause a fatal accident while drink driving, including the death penalty for the most egregious cases, sparking an outcry from abolition and rights groups.

The cabinet on Thursday (Mar 28) approved a draft amendment to the Criminal Code that would make death by drink driving an indictable murder offence, potentially punishable by death if the deed is deemed "intentional", officials said.

The proposal needs parliamentary approval but comes after a spate of high profile deaths that have generated widespread outrage.

Currently the maximum sentence in Taiwan for causing a death while drink behind the wheel is 10 years.

The new proposal would increase jail sentences for repeat offenders who commit a new offence within five years of their first conviction.

They face up to a life sentence for causing a death and 12 years for grave injuries.

"Cases of drunk driving leading to death are rampant ... drink drivers recklessly caused accidents that took lives and destroyed families to result in irreparable regret," the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

In one notorious case in January, a 40-year-old man crashed his van into a taxi while driving intoxicated, killing three people and injuring three others including himself.

Very few countries employ the death penalty for drink driving cases.

China has previously vowed to execute those who have killed behind the wheel and some states in the United States retain capital punishment for such cases.

In 2014 a Texas man was indicted on "capital murder" after he ploughed his car into a crowd killing four people.

But in the end prosecutors did not seek the death penalty and he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Several rights groups on Thursday, including the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, issued a joint statement criticising the proposed amendment and calling for "rational legislation for irrational drunk driving".

"There is a lack of evidence and research that seeking grave penalties and legislation would truly prevent drunk driving," the statement said.

Taiwan resumed capital punishment in 2010 after a five-year hiatus, despite ongoing calls from local and international rights groups for its abolition.

Various surveys over the years have shown support from the public for keeping the death penalty.

Taiwan executed a man who murdered his ex-wife and their daughter last September, the first execution carried out under President Tsai Ing-wen's government that took office in 2016.

Source: Agence France-Presse, Staff, March 28, 2019

Intentional homicide drunk drivers could face death penalty

Taipei, March 28 (CNA) The Executive Yuan approved a draft amendment to the Criminal Code at its weekly meeting Thursday, mandating that drunk drivers found guilty of intentional vehicular homicide could face capital punishment.

The draft stipulates that repeat drunk drivers who commit a similar offense within a five-year period that results in serious injury to another party, face a jail term of five to 12 years, and in the event the victim dies, seven years to life imprisonment.

The bill will be sent to the Legislative Yuan where they will be debated and passed before taking effect.

Citing Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Executive Yuan spokesperson Kolas Yotaka (谷辣斯．尤達卡) said more severe punishments are being introduced for driving under the influence (DUI) because such behavior has resulted in the deaths of many innocent people and destroyed numerous families.

In response to the law amendments, several civic groups, including Covenants Watch, Taipei Bar Association and Taiwan Association for Human Rights, urged what they called "rational legislation," arguing that in practice, implementing harsher sentences could be problematic if they result in severe punishments for minor offenses.

According to Deputy Minister of Justice Tsai Pi-chung (蔡碧仲), based on Article 13 of the Criminal Code, a DUI driver convicted of deliberately killing a person he or she hit could potentially receive the death penalty -- something international conventions do not rule out.

Source: focustaiwan.tw, Wang Yang-yu, Ku-chuan and Flor Wang, March 28, 2019

⚑ | 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