12 March 2025 :

Taiwan’s Supreme Prosecutors Office is reviewing extraordinary appeal requests from 36 death row inmates following a Constitutional Court ruling last year. Prosecutors are evaluating each case based on the court’s constitutional guidelines on capital punishment.
The September 2024 ruling upheld the death penalty as conditionally constitutional but declared certain provisions unconstitutional. It specifically ruled that individuals with mental illness or intellectual disabilities at the time of their crimes or sentencing should not receive or face capital punishment.
In January the Justice Ministry executed death row inmate Huang Lin-kai by firing squad, the first execution carried out under President Lai Ching-te and the first since the recent ruling.
Among those awaiting execution are Taiwan’s longest-serving death row inmates, Huang Chun-chi and Chen Yi-long, convicted of a 1995 kidnapping and murder. They, along with others, are now eligible for appeal.
Another three inmates, Lin Yu-ju, Shen Chi-wu, and Lin Wang-jen, have documented mental health conditions, which has raised concerns over whether they had adequate defense during trial. The court ruled that their executions must be suspended until legal reforms are enacted.