New Taipei woman receives death penalty for strangling her 2 kids

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A New Taipei woman was sentenced to death on Wednesday (Nov. 25) for murdering her two young children, prompting her attorney to criticize the court's decision as being "cold-blooded" and pledge to file an appeal.

Earlier this year, the 30-year-old single mother, surnamed Wu (吳), who was struggling financially drugged her 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter and then strangled them to death. The New Taipei District Court on Wednesday ruled that as the defendant had not shown any remorse for her "abominable and inhumane acts," it was sentencing her to death for homicide, reported CNA.

According to prosecutors, Wu moved in with her brother's family in 2019 after getting divorced and losing her job. On Feb. 13 of this year, she became involved in a heated argument with her brother and sister-in-law, reported TVBS.

That night, she checked into a hotel and tried to smother her children using pillows, but because they struggled, she was unable to kill them. Two days later, she again took the children to the hotel, where she gave them sleeping pills before strangling them to death.

Wu then sent a text message to her ex-husband that read: "I have left. I have gone with the children. Otherwise, they would be lonely on the road to the underworld." She then overdosed on the same sedatives she had given to her children.

However, her former spouse hurried to the hotel and called for an ambulance. After she was rushed to a hospital, doctors were able to save her.

After carrying out an investigation, prosecutors charged her with murder. During the initial court hearing, Wu confessed to the crime and said:

"I have been raising them (on my own) for seven years, and today I took them away because I feel that I have been looked down upon over the past seven years. I am alone in the face of all the public pressure and all kinds of strange stares, including the difficulty of finding a job. I wonder why I have had to care for these children on my own these past seven years. When they are sick and uncomfortable, I have to care for them on my own. I have to take care of them 24 hours a day. I have no freedom of my own."

The judges came to the conclusion that due to temporary setbacks, Wu had ignored her children’s affection for her, ignored their tears and struggling, and unilaterally decided to end their lives.

The judges deemed that Wu's actions were "Extremely cruel, cold-blooded, extremely bad, and seriously distorted the basic values of human existence. In displaying such contempt for her children's lives, she demonstrated an extremely arrogant, selfish, and ignorant character devoid of humanity."

The judges ruled that although Wu had confessed to the crime, she had never admitted her mistake to her family, apologized, or even tried to justify the murders. They claimed she had not reflected on the pain she had inflicted on family members, nor had she thoroughly reviewed her own "psychological defects," "loss of humanity," and "antisocial personality."

The court concluded that Wu had committed an unforgivable crime and that it was only natural that the death penalty be imposed.

Wu's attorney, Liao Hui-fang (廖蕙芳) on Thursday (Nov. 26) took to Facebook to criticize the court's decision as biased, populist, and "cold-blooded" and vowed to appeal.

Supermodel Sonia Sui (隋棠) that same day uploaded a post on Facebook in which she criticized people in power for being lenient with those who commit crimes such as driving under the influence of alcohol, child molestation, and parking in handicapped spaces. However, she said when it comes to women faced with societal pressures, they hand down the harshest punishments.

Source: taiwannews.com.tw, K. Everington, November 28, 2020

🚩 | 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.

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."

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

Kuwait | New Anti-Drug Law Introduces Death Penalty, Surprise Testing, and Strict Enforcement

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 26: Divorce rates in Kuwait are rising, with recent statistics indicating that addiction—particularly among wives—has become a significant contributing factor. In response, authorities are preparing to introduce surprise premarital drug testing as part of a broader set of reforms under Kuwait’s new drug law. The countdown has officially begun for the enforcement of this new legislation, which was drafted by a judicial committee formed by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahd Al-Yousef. The committee is headed by Counselor Mohammed Rashid Al-Duaij.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog