Civil groups unsatisfied with Constitutional Court ruling on death penalty

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) Several civil groups said it was regrettable that the Taiwan Constitutional Court did not abolish the death penalty but only limited the application of the capital punishment in its ruling on Friday.

In a case brought by 37 death row prisoners, the Constitutional Court ruled that the death penalty was constitutional only for "the most serious" premeditated murders and premeditated crimes resulting in death.

In response to the ruling, several civic groups involved in the debate over the death penalty in Taiwan described the ruling as "regrettable."

The Constitutional Court as a protector of human rights missed the opportunity to lead Taiwan beyond the instinctive reactions of revenge and intimidation, to break the cycle of hatred, and to augment possible means of healing, they argued.

The groups were the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, Amnesty International Taiwan, the Judicial Reform Foundation, the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Covenants Watch, the Taiwan Criminal Attorney Association, Taiwan Innocence Project and the Humanistic Education Foundation.

The deliberation of the ruling, meanwhile, showed "that the institution of the death penalty is not as rigorous as many might have imagined" and has many flaws long been pointed out by the alliance, such as a lack of full mandatory defense and verdicts not made unanimously, according to the groups' statement.

The statement said that since the 37 petitioners on the death row did not commit their crimes with premeditation, or their case do not meet "the most serious" threshold, the Ministry of Justice should not carry out any executions, and the groups will continue assisting the inmates with subsequent legal procedures.

They also urged the government to examine what causes a person to commit serious crimes, and strengthen the social security network to prevent people from becoming a criminal.

Meanwhile, through their respective spokespersons, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and the Executive Yuan said they respected the court's ruling and will create more stringent legal procedures to ensure due process.

Lai called the ruling a landmark in the justice system, while the Executive Yuan vowed to protect people's safety in the society and follow required legal procedures.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) also said that it respects the court's decision, but called for required law amendments to proceed under the principle of protecting people's basic rights and meeting public expectations.

The main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), meanwhile, said in a statement that "the ruling in effect abolished the death penalty," and the DPP may further push for the actual abolishment in phases, even if that may not be in line with "how most people in Taiwan feel about the issue."

The KMT argued that abolishing the death penalty is a goal listed in the DPP Party Platform, and given that the court did not rule that capital punishment was unconstitutional, Lai, as the president, should stop the party's pursuit of eliminating the death penalty in Taiwan.

In a separate statement, the Taiwan People's Party said that the court decision raised the threshold of sentencing someone to death, and demanded the judicial system communicate with the public and come up a more stringent protocol for the institution of the death penalty, so that it will not become an issue that divided Taiwanese society.