The rape and murder of a junior high school girl, for which a repeat sex offender stands accused has triggered online debates about capital punishment.
Earlier this week, 34-year-old Lin Kuo-cheng (林國政) — who was released on parole last month after serving more than eight years in prison for sexual and other offenses committed in 2002 — confessed to having raped and murdered a 13-year-old junior high school girl in Yunlin County, according to police.
Lin was also convicted of another sexual assault in 1996 and imprisoned from 1997 to 2001.
The latest case has shocked the public, with many calling on the judicial authorities to sentence him to death.
“I’m tired of seeing crimes like this from time to time. There’s no need to say more, just kill him [Lin],” Hsu Chun-ju (許峻儒) wrote on the social networking site Facebook.
“Although capital punishment might not reduce the crime rate, it could at least prevent repeat offenses,” another Facebook user Chien Hao Huang said.
“I have nothing against anti-death penalty activists, I only hope that they can be more considerate of the victims, not the perpetrator,” Chien wrote.
Facebook member Yu Heng-hsing (余恆興) wrote that there are so many crimes because Taiwan is “too free.”
Regardless of historical facts, Yu wrote that “during the Martial Law Period, no one dared commit any crime because the only punishment at the time was death.”
“It’s for the same reason that there are less criminals in communist or authoritarian countries,” he added.
Many others urged anti-death penalty activists to “adopt” criminals if they want them to remain alive.
Commenting on the issue, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty executive director Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡) said on her Facebook page that many supporters of the death penalty think that it is effective in preventing crimes.
“The point is capital punishment has never been abolished, and nine people have been executed within two years. Based on what they [death penalty supporters] think, crimes should not happen because we are executing people — but what’s happening is just the opposite,” she said.
Facebook user Lu Ying-chieh (盧映潔) agreed with Lin.
“I want to ask these people [death penalty supporters]: The serial rapist Wang Kuo-hua (王國華) was executed, shouldn’t that scare off other rapist, based on your argument?” Lu asked.
Internet user Hsu Hui-ying (許慧盈) said that executions would not solve anything as the underlying problems would remain.
“Executing a criminal may not be difficult, but when the problems are still there, there will always be a next victim,” Hsu said. “Those who support the ‘easier’ way to take care of criminals should be held responsible for what happens to the next victim.”
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