The Justices of the Constitutional Court rejected a petition yesterday aimed at halting plans to execute the 40 inmates that remain on death row.
“The defendants are given the opportunity to defend and express themselves during the trial process ... There is no violation of the Constitution in the convictions,” the Constitutional Court said in a statement.
“The request to suspend the executions is dismissed, as the court declines to review the case,” the court said.
“Execution of the death row prisoners does not violate the two United Nations covenants that Taiwan has signed,” the court said, in a reference to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The covenants were passed by the legislature on March 31 last year and later signed into law by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
The petition was filed by the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, on behalf of the 40 death row inmates.
Taiwan executed four of the 44 prisoners on death row on April 30, the first executions to be carried out since December 2005.
The Ministry of Justice said the four men had been tried and convicted of “grave offenses such as lethal kidnappings and murder” and their sentences had been confirmed by courts at various levels.
The executions came five weeks after former minister of justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) resigned amid a political storm sparked when she declared that she would not sign any death warrants during her term in office.
The justice ministry yesterday said it respected the Consitutional Court’s decision.
The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, however, said in a statement it was saddened by the decision, which it described as “deeply regrettable.”
The non-profit organization, which has a team of volunteer lawyers, said it would make further comments on the judgment after it receives official confirmation of the decision from the Judicial Yuan.
Legal experts said the ministry could resume the execution of death row inmates at any time.
Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) said yesterday there was no timetable for carrying out more executions despite the court’s decision.
The execution date of the 40 inmates currently on death row would be based on the gravity on their crimes, he said.
In a meeting with the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office, the minister said a plan to prioritize the execution of inmates whose crimes involved brutal murders, including multiple deaths or killings within the family, was under consideration.
His comments came shortly after a report appeared in the Chinese-language United Daily News claiming that the ministry could carry out a second round of executions before the end of the year.
Taiwan reserves the death penalty for serious crimes including aggravated murder, kidnapping and robbery.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
RSS