Su Chuen-chang (
Su fought vigorously, even up until his recent hospitalization, for justice for his son who, along with two others, was convicted of the murders of a Hsichih couple in 1991.
The three, known as the Hsichih Trio, have remained on death row ever since 1995. Successive justice ministers have opted not to sign their death warrants in light of questions surrounding their case, but courts have repeatedly turned down appeals and requests for a retrial.
Su's death came just two days after the Supreme Court at last granted the Hsichih Trio a retrial.
Human rights activists yesterday expressed their deep sorrow that the 52-year-old father's hopes of seeing his son walk out of jail innocent had not been realized.
"We urge the judiciary to no longer use the lives of Taiwan's people to pave the way toward justice," activists said at a press conference yesterday to mourn Su's passing.
The activists urged the court to hold a fair retrial and release the three as soon as possible.
Su's other son, Su Chien-wen (
"Dad has passed away. I hope you can keep it up. Please don't fall down and neglect dad's ten-year effort to rescue you," Su said sobbing. "You have to come home an innocent son."
Human rights activists called the elder Su's passing "a new beginning" for the rescue effort, which has lasted over nine years.
"The last 10 years of his life can be epitomized not only by his rescue efforts for his son but also by his campaign to improve Taiwan's judicial system," said Ku Yu-chen (
"Without his initiatives in the rescue mission over the years, the Trio would have been executed," Chen Chen-kan (
The team recalled Su's efforts to free his son, along with two other death-row inmates, Liu Bing-lang (劉秉郎) and Chuang Lin-hsun (莊林勳), by filming a documentary video about his campaign since 1995 when the Trio was sentenced to death.
"If my son ever had done the wrong thing, I wouldn't say anything about his legal execution," Su said in the video.
"But the law never provided any evidence and I couldn't stand my son being killed because of a miscarriage of justice."
Su, who had only a third grade education, did not know how to write complaints or requests at the time the trial began.
To start the rescue effort, he simply copied all the documents he could gather from the prosecutors and the courts and then sent them to law scholars.
"I just waited in the front of the Taiwan University for law scholars and asked them to have a look at the case," Su said in the video, "Many people thereafter started to notice and work on the case."
Su worked alone to rescue the Trio for the first five years. Since 1995, however, hundreds of thousands of people, including Amnesty International and the convener of the president's advisory group, Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), have joined several demonstrations and appeals to both the former and present president to ask for the Trio's clemency.
Su's fight for the Trio cost him his business, his time and his health.
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