A group opposing the death penalty yesterday sought to apply for an extraordinary appeal on behalf of a death-row prisoner who the Ministry of Justice has decided to execute.
While the ministry has not executed any prisoners so far this year, on Friday it approved the execution of Chung Te-shu (鍾德樹).
The Prosecutors' Office of the Taiwan High Court plans to execute Chung on Sunday evening.
On Saturday, after learning that Chung would be executed, the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty hurriedly applied to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to review legal documents relating to Chung's case, hoping to put his execution on hold.
Members and lawyers of the alliance held a press conference in front of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office yesterday.
"The review of the case's legal documents may lead to an extraordinary application [to stop the execution] if the documents reveal anything suspicious," said Y.C. Kao (
Another group member, Kuo Jung-chi (
In 2001 April, Chung asked a woman surnamed Huang to repay a debt she owed him.
When Huang tried to avoid him, Chung went to Huang's private classroom in Taoyuan County, doused the room with gasoline and set it ablaze.
Huang and two children in the classroom died and 18 other children were injured.
Chung had been sentenced to death three times previously, but a series of appeals kept him alive while his case was heard in district court, the Taiwan High Court and the Supreme Court. The death sentence under which Chung is to be executed on Sunday was handed down by the Taiwan High Court in August 2003.
Prosecutors have noted several times that Huang has never showed remorse for his crime.
Kuo said that according to Chung's prison cellmate, Chung's family rarely visited after he received a death sentence.
Chung's mental health has deteriorated and he currently has no legal representation, conditions which Kuo called "inhuman."
With 20 prisoners now on death row in Taiwan, the alliance yesterday asked the ministry to keep its word to put an end to capital punishment.
The ministry's records show that the number of executions has been decreasing for years, with 32 put to death in 1998, 10 in 2001, three in 2004 and three last year.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS