Taiwan has more than 100 inmates on death row, with 15 having been given the final sentence and awaiting execution, according to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).
While the government has not been able to achieve its goal of abolishing the death penalty, it has managed to lower the number of executions, the MOJ said.
This is why the number of death-row convicts is on the rise, it said.
Ministry statistics shows that as of Feb. 17, there were 109 death-row convicts in prisons nationwide. But of the 17 prisoners sentenced to death last year, only three were executed.
Justice Minister Morley Shih (
For those whose extraordinary appeals had been rejected by the Supreme Court, the ministry has also attempted to stay their execution, Shih said.
Such appeals and delays explain why only three out of the 17 convicts sentenced to death last year were actually executed, he added.
Shih said that Taiwan might not be able to abolish the death penalty soon, as a majority of the public believes it is a more effective deterrent against crime than any other form of punishment.
Moreover, many believe that without capital punishment, relatives of the victims of violent crimes would not be accorded justice.
However, criminals sentenced to death also suffer intense pressure in awaiting their execution dates.
A prisoner, Huang Chih-hsien (
Huang had reportedly told prison staff that waiting for his execution date was too painful.
According to a report by the Chinese-language newspaper, the United Daily News, two death-row convicts were recently found to be suffering from mental illness.
Meanwhile, a former Taipei County senior high school teacher, Tseng Si-ru (
In 2002 Ho caught Tseng breaking and entering her apartment. Tseng got hold of a dumbbell, hit Ho with it and, despite the latter's plea for mercy, used a knife he was carrying to slash her neck. He then turned on the gas to leave her to die.
Tseng even attempted to make the death of Ho look like a suicide, but bloodstains at the scene of the crime led the police to Tseng.
Tseng was given seven death sentences, which were upheld by the Supreme Court.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS