The Death Penalty: Inappropriate For A Democracy

Written by LIN Hsinyi, Executive Director of Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, and WU Jiazhen, Deputy Director of the alliance

Taiwan is recognized by the world for its bubble milk tea and semiconductor chips. It is also undeniably one of the leading democracies in Asia and is renowned for its progress in human rights. However, visitors from abroad are often surprised to learn that Taiwan still sentences people to death—and, in fact, continues to carry out executions.

Ironically, despite having experienced an era of authoritarian rule where people were arbitrarily sentenced to death, Taiwanese people today generally enjoy human rights and freedom of speech. Yet, the death penalty remains widely supported by the majority of the population. As death penalty abolitionists, we routinely handle angry phone calls and online threats—Taiwanese people certainly know how to make use of their "freedom of speech."

Since we lack the support of the majority of Taiwanese people, why do we insist on advocating the abolition of the death penalty? Because the death penalty has no place in democracy. Taiwan is no exception.  

Risk of Wrongful Convictions

The possibility of wrongful convictions—and the execution of innocent people—cannot be ignored. 

Under all circumstances, a democratic country should ensure judicial fairness in order to protect individuals and maintain social justice. However, since the judicial system is run by human beings, human beings make mistakes. While the miscarriage of justice is inevitable, wrongful executions are intolerable. For a democratic country founded on the rule of law, wrongfully executing an innocent person is utterly unacceptable.

For instance, the “Hsichih Trio” (known as 蘇建和案 by the locals), were wrongly convicted in 1999, exonerated in 2012 only after years of legal battles. Even today, they are still haunted by the disturbing civil compensation lawsuits. Their lives have been deeply burdened by this wrongful conviction, leaving them unable to feel true freedom.

Other wrongful convictions include Chiang Kuo-ching (江國慶), executed in 1997, and Lu Cheng (盧正), executed in 2000. While Cheng Hsing-tse (鄭性澤), exonerated in 2017, and Hsieh Chih-hung (謝志宏), exonerated in 2020. Additionally, current death row prisoners Chiou Ho-shun (邱和順), who has been detained for over 36 years, and the 73-year-old Wang Xinfu (王信福), are believed to be innocent and are at risk of execution.

Innocent people may still face execution as long as the death penalty exists. That is the risk no one ought to take.

The Authoritarians Tool

The death penalty, once a tool of Taiwan’s authoritarian past, does not belong in our democratic present and future.

Under the dictator Chiang Kai-shek, sentences of political dissidents, ranging from several years in prison to life sentences, could be arbitrarily altered to a death sentence by Chiang. In some cases, Chiang ordered an immediate execution without due process. Taiwan endured authoritarian rule for decades, including the 228 massacre and the White Terror era under Chiang Kai-shek. The dictator had absolute control over the life and death of his people.

In the 1990s, various social and human rights movements surged, driving the process of democratization. This ultimately led to Taiwan's first political transition in 2000, bringing an end to the KMT's one-party rule. As Taiwan democratized in the 1990s, it left behind a past of repression.

At the end of every February, we commemorate the Peace Memorial Day on February 28th. We remember the massacre carried out by the KMT party-state across Taiwan 78 years ago. Thousands of people from all walks of Taiwanese society, especially an entire generation of intellectuals, were disappeared, injured, silenced, or killed. The democracy and human rights that we have fought hard to achieve can easily regress if we fail to defend them. The recent political situation in Taiwan is clear evidence of this.

The death penalty is often a tool used by politicians to divert attention. Death row prisoners become political hostages. This argument has been confirmed again by the Lai government’s decision to carry out the execution in January, and the KMT’s continued use of the death penalty issue to resist the nationwide recall campaign to oust blue-camp politicians.

Keeping the death penalty in a democratic society contradicts Taiwan's hard-won freedom. We urge the Taiwanese people to learn the lessons from the past, say no to authoritarianism, and say no to the death penalty.

Denial of Redemption

The death penalty represents a shallow vision of justice. It denies a chance to repent, to make amends, to forgive and to be forgiven, and promote learning and healing.

We understand that the public needs to isolate the persons who committed serious crimes from society to feel safe. For the current 36 death row prisoners, most of them have been in prison for an average of over 20 years. They are no longer the same people 20 years ago. They may have changed and wish to atone for the harms they have caused. Yet, the death penalty does not provide such opportunities.

Take  Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was executed on January 16th, for example. During our communication with him, he constantly expressed regret and wished for a chance to undo his past and to compensate. The death penalty denies such opportunities for people like him, while a democracy should allow individuals the chance for redemption.

Democracy Has No Place for the Death Penalty

Taiwan is regarded as a democratic country that has the rule of law and protects human rights. According to the Constitutional Judgment No. 8 on the constitutionality of the death penalty, all current cases of death row prisoners should be given the opportunity to be reviewed. However, the Minister of Justice ignored the ruling of the Constitutional Judgment No. 8 and carried out the execution of Huang Lin-kai anyway.

We were shocked and outraged by this decision because it demonstrated how the death row prisoners’ right to seek legal remedies was arbitrarily deprived—and how authorities despised the constitutional ruling. The execution carried out in January proves again that the death penalty is a convenient tool for politicians, regardless of political party, whether it's the KMT or DPP.

In Taiwan, political leaders make the people believe that executions will bring better public safety or political stability. We all know that this is not true. To make people feel safe and reduce the crime rate, various social security measures must be implemented, including improving labor conditions and social welfare systems. Through these patient, reasonable, and research-tested methods, children grow up and stay in school with peace of mind, and adults work safely and feel secure.

We must not take the death penalty lightly. The death penalty is inappropriate for a democratic country—and always will be.

The abridged version of this article was published on Taipei Times on March 16, 2025.