Taiwan's Death Row Inmate Huang Lin-kai's Plea Rejected by Constitutional Court

Constitutional Court Declines Temporary Relief Request, Paving the Way for Execution

In a significant legal development, the Constitutional Court in Taiwan has rejected a request for a temporary injunction filed by lawyers representing death row inmate Huang Lin-kai. The application was submitted by the lawyers of the public to the Constitutional Court, before Huang's scheduled execution on January 16th.

The Constitutional Court received the case and subsequently assigned it on January 20th. However, the First Examination Panel of the Constitutional Court unanimously decided not to accept the case. The panel comprised Presiding Judge Hsieh Ming-yang, Justice Tsai Tsai-chen, and You Po-hsiang.

Huang Lin-kai, aged 32, argued that, according to the 2023 Constitutional Interpretation No. 8, the death penalty should only be applied in cases where the crime's circumstances are the most serious, and the strictest legal procedures are followed. He contended that there were doubts as to whether his crime qualified as the most serious and if the previous trials adhered to the strictest legal procedures. Furthermore, he claimed it was necessary to investigate whether he suffered from emotional or impulse control disorders, or other mental disabilities, that might preclude him from receiving the death penalty.