Taiwan retains death penalty but limits use to 'exceptional' cases

Taipei, Taiwan — A Taiwan court decided on Friday to retain capital punishment, but ruled its application should be "limited to special and exceptional circumstances."

Democratic Taiwan has carried out 35 executions since a moratorium on capital punishment was lifted in 2010, with the latest — that of a 53-year-old man convicted for setting a fire that killed his family — occurring in April 2020.

Campaigners against the death penalty have long argued that the practice, carried out by shooting an inmate in the heart from behind as they lie face-down on the ground, is an inhumane method of punishment.

The debate was brought to Taiwan's Constitutional Court, which ruled Friday that it would retain the death penalty.

"However, the death penalty is a capital punishment after all, and its scope of application should still be limited to special and exceptional circumstances," said chief justice Hsu Tzong-li during a lengthy readout of the court's decision.

In a statement, the court said that while the right to life will be protected under Taiwan's constitution, "such protection is not absolute."

"The TCC emphasized that because death penalty was the most severe punishment and irreversible in nature, its application and procedural safeguard [from investigation to execution] should be reviewed under strict scrutiny," it said in reference to the crime of murder.

However, "the judgement did not address the constitutionality of death penalty in general or imposed on other offences," such as treason or drug-related offences.

The court also ruled that imposing the death sentence be "prohibited" for "defendants with mental conditions, even if their mental conditions did not influence their offense in the cases in question."

Additionally, death row inmates "should not be executed if they had mental conditions to the extent that have impeded their competency for execution," it said.

The court case had been brought by the 37 inmates currently on death row in Taiwan.

There are about 50 provisions in Taiwan's criminal laws that stipulate capital punishment to be the maximum sentence, and executions are carried out without notice once all appeals have been exhausted.

In 2020, the Cabinet passed new procedures in its execution of death row inmates, allowing the condemned to hold final religious rites as well as leave a farewell voice or video message for their families.

Capital punishment remains popular in Taiwan, with a recent survey by the Chinese Association for Human Rights showing that 80 percent were in favor of keeping it.