No need to halt death penalty debateBy Cui Jia-wei 崔家瑋Chuang Sheng-rong (莊勝榮), a lawyer and former National Assembly delegate, recently argued in an op-ed (“Court to hear death penalty arguments,” Feb. 24, page 8) that the Judicial Yuan, with the term of its current president about to expire, should not address the constitutionality of the death penalty. Regarding the death penalty, Chuang points out that Interpretation Nos. 194, 263 and 476 did not declare the death penalty unconstitutional. Chuang also mentions the wide range of issues involved in the death penalty debate, including public opinion, politics, law, religion, criminology and criminal policy. Although the death penalty issue is indeed complex, pushing discussion of it back would not lead to better outcomes.

Source: Taipei Times February 27, 2024 21:43 UTC