Information gathered from Ministry of Justice and judiciary officials has allowed the public a look into the final moments leading up to the execution of six death-row inmates on Friday evening.
According to the ministry’s information, executions start with death-row convicts being informed of their execution and then taken to the execution field, where their identities are reconfirmed and they are asked for any last words.
A final meal with Kaoliang liquor (高粱酒) is also provided, courtesy of the prison authorities.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Following the meal, forensic pathologists inject the convicts with anesthetics for a painless death and then marshals take their cues from the pathologists and fire a fatal shot into the convict’s heart, or the base of their skull, should the convict wish to donate their organs, the ministry said.
The convict’s death is then certified by the forensic pathologist, it added.
On Friday’s executions, Tseng Si-ru (曾思儒) and Hung Ming-tsung (洪明聰) were executed in Taipei Prison; Chen Chin-huo (陳金火) and Kwang Teh-chiang (廣德強) in Greater Taichung Prison; Huang Hsien-cheng (黃賢正) in Greater Tainan Prison; and Tai Te-ying (戴德穎) in Greater Kaohsiung Prison.
Chen and Kwang were sentenced to death for killing a female insurance agent and chopping up and eating parts of her body in 2004 in then-Taichung County.
Tseng, a former Taipei County senior-high school teacher, was convicted of killing a female colleague after she caught him burgling her home in 2002.
Hung set fire to the home of his in-laws, killing his brother-in-law and his brother-in-law’s three children in 2003 in then-Taipei County.
Tai killed his girlfriend’s father by stabbing him 26 times and severely wounded his girlfriend’s mother in 2006 in Kaohsiung.
Huang, who served a prison term for killing his ex-wife, murdered two men five days after he was released on parole in 2005.
The ministry said that while Chen, Tai and Tseng had signed documents to donate their organs, Tai was a hepatitis B carrier and Tseng retracted his promise at the last minute. Only Chen’s organs were donated.
According to the Taiwan High Prosecutor’s Office, Tseng on Friday evening gave a six-minute speech when asked for his last words, admitting that although he had committed a heinous crime, “the sentence given to me was too heavy. I feel that I [may] still be of some value [to society].”
Hung, on the other hand, had nothing to say.
Both Hung and Tseng ate the last meals, had a drink and smoked a cigarette prior to the execution.
Tseng was killed with one shot at about 6:52pm, but Hung had to be shot three times and took over 10 minutes to die. The first shot had been fired at 7pm, but after 5 minutes the marshals discovered that Hung was still breathing and fired a second shot, then the third shot five minutes later.
Both the prosecutor and the forensic pathologist concluded that the reason it took three bullets to kill Hung was because the anesthetic had not worked quickly enough because he was a large man.
Chen and Kwang were taken out of their cells at about 5pm and asked for last words or unfinished business. Both Chen Chin-huo and Kwang said no.
Kwang ate some of the food provided by the prison, drank about 150cc of Kaoliang, and asked for a cigarette.
Kwang was injected with anesthetic after he had finished his cigarette and his execution was concluded at 6:30pm without incident.
Chen did not touch any of the food or liquor provided and had asked to be injected immediately. Chen was shot at the base of his skull because he wished to donate his organs and his execution was concluded at 7:40pm without incident. Chen’s remains were placed on an ambulance and taken to a hospital.
According to the Greater Taichung Prison, both Chen and Kwang had been calm over the five years that they had been on the death row. Their deaths were presided over by monks hired by the prison.
Huang was executed at 6:30pm. When asked for his last words he said he had done great wrongs, regretted his actions, was sorry that he had not lived up to his father’s expectations and asked his mother not to be sad about his execution.
Huang did eat any of the food prepared by the prison authorities, but took a few sips of water and smoked a cigarette.
When the marshal was about to fire, the gun jammed three times. The marshal fired twice into Huang’s heart after clearing the chambers, concluding the execution.
Tai said he had nothing holding him back as his mother suffered from dementia and that he was being freed.
Tai was notified at 6:30pm that his execution was being carried out, and reacted calmly to the notification. Tai walked out to the execution field by himself, thanking the guards accompanying him for taking care of him these last few years.
After drinking a cup of Kaoliang and having a cigarette, Tai was injected with anesthetic at 6:50pm and taken to the field. The marshals had to fire three times before the forensic pathologist confirmed that Tai was dead.
Tai’s body was transported to the Greater Kaohsiung City Mortuary at 7:18pm, and over his body was handed over to his relatives and family for burial.
Additional reporting by Su Fu-nan, Pao Chien-hsin, Wang Jun-hsiang, Wu Chun-feng, Yang Cheng-chun, Hou Po-ching and Wang Ting-chuan
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as