倡議與行動
這裡會有廢死聯盟的新聞稿及倡議行動。
Justice minister defends stance on executions
2010/03/12
| Justice minister defends stance on executions 2010/03/10 20:04:28 |
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In a rare article issued late Tuesday, Wang said the abolition of capital punishment should not be just a future policy goal but should be something actually carried out in practice. Reaffirming her promise that there will be no executions while she is serving her term, Wang said she would rather step down than give a green light for the nation to take someone's life. "The current suspension of executions is aimed at allowing the concept of abolition to mature and flourish, " Wang wrote in the article, referring to the fact that society remains divided on whether the death sentence should be scrapped. Responding to press inquiries about why she wrote the article, Wang said she looks forward to nurturing support for the advocacy of the abolition of the death penalty. While death row inmates deserve punishment, Wang said, depriving them of their right to life will not make local society a better place in which to live. "l would rather quit than sign a decree to execute a convicted death row inmate," said Wang who even added that she would be willing to replace an inmate and be executed herself in his place if doing so would allow him the opportunity for self-improvement or redemption. On criticism by some lawmakers and Control Yuan members that suspending executions violates the law and the Constitution, Wang said such comments are incredible because the Constitution protects people's right to life. Wang further said she believes that with effective communication, more and more people will come to support a phasing out of the death sentence. "Since I told lawmakers that the Ministry of Justice is working on a comprehensive package of measures, such as lifelong imprisonment, to complement the proposed abolition of capital punishment, many of them no longer insist on their previous stance of opposing my proposal," Wang added. The Ministry of Justice has not approved an execution since December 2005. At present, 44 prisoners sentenced to death are behind bars pending their executions. Wang said she does not think Taiwan needs to come up with a special statute to legalize suspension of executions because neither Japan nor South Korea has done so. "Neither Japan nor South Korea has bother to legislate against executions, even though both countries have suspended them for more than a decade," Wang said. Japan has 102 death row prisoners, while South Korea has 60 people awaiting |