Taiwan justice minister resigns over death penalty dispute
Amelia Mathias at 2:03 PM ET 2010/03/12
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/03/taiwan-justice-minister-resigns-over.php
[JURIST] Taiwanese Justice Minister
Wang Ching-feng [official profile] resigned Thursday in defense of her position against the death penalty. Though Taiwan has not executed a criminal since 2005, Wang said she
would not sign [BBC report] the execution warrants of any of the
44 prisoners [
Taiwan News report] still on death row. Her resignation was sparked by
possible criticism [Reuters report] of her position by the office of Taiwanese President
Ma Ying-jeou [JURIST news archive], a member of her own Kuomintang party. Three-fourths of Taiwanese citizens favor the death penalty. Taiwanese Premier Wu Den-yih has already
appointed a replacement [CNA report].
In February, UN Under-Secretary-General
Sergei Ordzhonikidze [official profile] praised the
increase in the number of countries [JURIST report] that have suspended or abolished the death penalty. Speaking at the
4th World Congress Against the Death Penalty [FIDH backgrounder] in Geneva, Ordzhonikidze expressed hope that countries that have not abolished the death penalty would adopt the 2007
UN Resolution 62/149 [text], placing a moratorium on the use of capital punishment.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2010 04:39PM by adaptor.
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