"A JOURNEY OF a thousand miles begins with the first step."
That line from the Taoist classic Tao Te Ching (道德經) comes to mind when considering Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan's (陳定南) recent pronouncements on the death penalty. Perhaps the first steps toward ending the death penalty in Taiwan have been taken. Perhaps too, the journey toward full abolition will be a long one.
This journey toward abolishment of the death penalty in Taiwan involves a number of steps. These steps do not logically nor chronologically have to occur in the order I list them. As a practical matter, several of the steps will occur in tandem.
Step 1: A public commitment from the government is needed to end the use of the death penalty. This first step requires a public acknowledgement that the death penalty is a barbarism that has no place in a modern criminal justice system. It is a commitment to join the increasing number of nations that have abandoned the death penalty. Whether in fact President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) government has "committed" to the abolition of the death penalty is unclear. Chen Ding-nan's "hopes" concerning the abolition of the death penalty may or may not represent an official policy of the Ministry of Justice and they may or may not reflect an official policy of President Chen's government. Chen Ding-nan is infamous for his "shoot from the hip" approach to press conferences. In a similar vein President Chen's various ministries are infamous for concocting their own policy plans in a vacuum. It is my hope that Chen Ding-nan was speaking on behalf of the government and not merely expressing his personal opinions.
Step 2: Pending full abolition of the death penalty all mandatory death penalty statutes should be repealed. Under Taiwan's criminal code a number of offenses carry either an optional or mandatory death sentence. According to a report issued by the Executive Yuan in 1994 entitled "A Discussion of Whether the Death Penalty Should be Abolished," 95 different offenses carried the death penalty as an optional punishment and 65 different offenses carried the death penalty as a mandatory punishment. These mandatory death offenses include the much-discussed "Bandit Law."
Step 3: Amend Taiwan's sentencing law to have the option of a "true" life sentence. Under Taiwan's current law a "life sentence" does not necessarily mean the defendant will spend the rest of their life in custody. A "life sentence" under Taiwan law means a period of imprisonment not to exceed 20 years. A "true" life sentence means exactly what it says, the defendant stays in custody until the day they die. The fact that Taiwan's sentencing law does not contain a provision for a "true" life sentence is one rational often put forward for retaining the death penalty. This "true" life sentence also needs to include provisions that there will be no medical or hardship release permitted.
Step 4. The justice ministry, Judicial Yuan and the National Police Administration need to cooperate on a program of public education to enlighten the public on the fact that there is no proven correlation between the use of the death penalty and rates of violent crime. This public education program, in conjunction with new laws creating a true life sentence, will eliminate two major excuses put forward as to why Taiwan needs the death penalty. I realize that getting those three agencies to cooperate on anything is almost impossible but perhaps they could make an exception for this program.
Step 5. The public needs to realize that the death penalty is unlike any other form of punishment; it is irrevocable. Once the condemned takes the .45-caliber slug in the back of his head it is over, forever. That fact combined with the fact that any and all human institutions, including the Taiwanese criminal trial system, are subject to mistakes and failings adds up to a situation where an unknown number of factually innocent defendants have died at the hands of the Taiwanese criminal "justice" system.
These five steps will go a long way toward ending the death penalty in Taiwan and they will go a long way toward showing the public and the international community that President Chen's government is serious about the ultimate human right; the right to life.
Brian Kennedy is an attorney who writes and teaches on criminal justice and human rights issues.
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