EXPERT OPINION: The Ministry of Justice is the deciding authority on whether to grant parole to a prisoner, which causes problems in the judicial system, Huang Kuo-chang said
Taipei Times
Date: May 23, 2018
By: Ann Maxon / Staff reporter
The New Power Party (NPP) would seek to reform the nation’s parole system by pushing
New Power Party (NPP) caucus convener Hsu Yung-ming, left, and NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang talk about the party’s proposed amendments to laws governing judicial procedure and labor issues at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
for amendments to the Criminal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) and Prison Act (監獄行刑法), the party told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Whether a prisoner may be released on parole is determined by the Ministry of Justice, which has the authority to approve prisoners’ parole applications, NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said.
“Imagine a criminal who has finally been sentenced to prison after a lengthy process of investigation and trials, and then [waits for] the ministry to decide whether they need to serve only half of their sentence,” he said.
“The system is flawed, because theoretically only the judiciary has the authority, to determine the scope and level of punishment meted out to criminals — not the administrative branches,” Huang added. [FULL STORY]
