Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

Taipei Times - Academics call for review of policy that capital punishment deters crime

By Shelley Huang
STAFF REPORTER
Tuesday, Jun 02, 2009, Page 2

Chiu Hei-yuan, convener of the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, right, shakes hands with Birgitt Ory, director of the German Institute Taipei, during a book launch in Taipei.
PHOTO: CNA

Academics yesterday urged the government to review its policy on capital punishment by conducting an in-depth study on whether it discourages crime.

A panel discussion on the death penalty and its effect on crime rates was held yesterday as part of a book launch to promote "New Ideology beyond the Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty," a collection of essays from a seminar organized by the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty last November.

VADP