We will not give up fighting for Su, Liu and Chuang ( Statement from the pro bono defense team of the 'Hsichih Trio' )
2011/04/22
Statement from the pro bono defense team
of Su Chien-ho, Liu Bin-lang and Chuang Lin-hsun (the ‘Hsichih Trio’)
April 21, 2011 （中文版請點選這裡 ）
We will not give up fighting for Su, Liu and Chuang
Today the Supreme Court repealed the not-guilty judgment handed down last year in the “Hsichih Trio” case and remanded this 20-year-old case for yet another retrial at the High Court. We deeply regret the Court’s decision and are pained to see our clients put through yet another trial.
When the Hsichih Trio case was finally reopened in 2000, the defendants were found not guilty in 2003 and released. But the Supreme Court has continued to order retrials. After remanding the case twice, the latest High Court trial brought the truth to light: One murderer, two victims, and three innocent defendants.
The murderer was put to death long ago, but two decades later, Liu, Chuang and Su still face endless trials. Their confessions were extracted through torture, and there is no evidence linking them to the crime, yet the prosecution presses on.
The Supreme Court named a number of reasons for its decision, including:
1. The police said they did not torture the defendants.
2. Wang Wen-hsiao (already executed) and the three remaining defendants all confessed. Although the confessions conflict with each other on a number of points, they should not be eliminated completely as evidence.
3. The crime reconstruction by forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee did not take into account that the furniture at the crime scene was low, meaning that the murders could have been standing on top of the furniture during the crime. His measurements at the crime scene were flawed.
These reasons flout the presumption of innocence and do not meet the standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt” that is necessary for a conviction. By refusing to admit that these men are the victims of a miscarriage of justice and instead seeking to save face for the judiciary, the Supreme Court has violated the ethics and professionalism of the bench.
Upon taking up his post on Oct. 13 last year, Judicial Yuan President Rai Hau-min said he envisioned judicial reform based on honesty, trustworthiness and professionalism. Lai said he would see through the Judges’ Act and eliminate incompetent judges. Yet it is equally important to promote ethics and courage on the bench. Otherwise, unfair judgments in life-or-death cases are inevitable.
Our determination has not wavered over the past 20 years and will not waver now. We vow to keep fighting for our clients and will not stop until their names are cleared.