The 37 death row prisoners in Taiwan who have exhausted their appeals may petition for extraordinary appeals to alter their sentencing following a ruling by the Constitutional Court on Friday that stated the death penalty was constitutional, but only for “exceptional” cases.
In a case brought by the 37 prisoners, the Constitutional Court ruled that the death penalty was constitutional only for “the most serious” premeditated murders and premeditated crimes resulting in death.
The ruling also prohibits the death sentence for people with a mental condition, reversing the current practice which allows only those who can prove that their mental conditions had affected their judgment when they committed their crimes to receive reduced sentences.
Photo: CNA
Any current laws incompatible with the ruling must be amended within two years, the court said.
At a news conference following the ruling, Yang Hao-ching (楊皓清), the court’s director-general, said while the death row prisoners could petition for extraordinary appeals based on Friday’s ruling, it was up to the head prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to decide whether to accept their petitions.
Even if the head prosecutor files for extraordinary appeals on their behalf, the Supreme Court still has to decide whether to review such appeals, he added.
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in a press release issued later on Friday said it would file extraordinary appeals for prisoners Chen Yi-lung (陳憶隆) and Huang Chun-chi (黃春棋) because the laws underlying their death sentences were ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.
The two were given the death penalty more than two decades ago over the kidnapping and murder of a businessman surnamed Huang (黃) in 1995.
As for the remaining 35 prisoners, the office said it would examine each of their cases before determining its next step.
The Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) says that the head prosecutor can also file for an extraordinary appeal — a special procedure intended to correct “improper judgments” — if a punishment imposed on an individual is considered to be “against the law.”
The Supreme Court, upon reviewing an extraordinary appeal for a case, can revoke parts or all of the judgments and either remit the case to the original court for re-examination or issue a new ruling, according to the extraordinary appeal system.
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