Taiwan Innocence Project
社團法人台灣冤獄平反協會
When you are sued by someone, the law may make a mistake. There may be a misdiagnosis by a doctor, or the media may report incorrectly. Judges are also people and it is possible that they may make mistakes.
The Taiwan Innocence Project was formed in 2012. It has been eleven years since it was formed. It has already helped fourteen cases to help an innocent person who was falsely accused to clear their name.
Addressing miscarriages of justice is our core aim, helping the innocent through our actions. We also analyze the reasons as to miscarriages of justice, hoping to promote reform of the legal system, and avoid further miscarriages of justice.
With miscarriages of justice, it is not only that the sentenced individual loses their freedom. Many times, a family also loves a pillar of support, and so showing care for those who have suffered a miscarriage of justice is a core task of ours. Through visiting them and understanding their family situation and needs, we try to link together various support networks, hoping to allow them and their families to seek redress, and return to society.
The law is people judging other people. It is hard to avoid making mistakes. It is hard to avoid any miscarriages of justice taking place, but we can reduce the possibility that this takes place, and try to make remedies for mistakes. This is the goal that we continue to strive for.
Starting in Spring 2017, the Taiwan Innocence Project began to hold the Innocence Tuesday series of activities. Each second Tuesday night every month, we invite experts to discuss different aspects of legal cases involving miscarriages of justice to discuss, exchange, and try to look at these issues with concerned individuals.
In order to allow people to know more about cases of miscarriages of justice and to be concerned with the legal system, the Taiwan Innocence Project holds activities both domestically and internationally and publishes the Innocence Report. This takes the form of an online newsletter that is published on the 10th and 25th of each month, taking a number of perspectives, documenting, reporting, and analyzing miscarriages of justice, and allows for a deeper understanding of the issue.
In order to broaden those who understand cases involving miscarriage of justice and the harm created by these cases, the Taiwan Innocence Project has held the first Innocence Film Festival: What If. In December 2023, the second film festival will be held again, hoping that through real-life images, this can allow audiences to look at cases involving miscarriages of justice to understand them in the flesh.
We seek redress for cases in which there has been a miscarriage of justice. We only accept cases in which there has been "invalid scientific evidence" or in which there have been "serious procedural errors."
From when we were formed up until today, the Taiwan Innocence Project has successfully helped fourteen cases of miscarriage of justice. This includes the case of Cheng Hsing-tse, involving a sentence of the death penalty, who was cleared of wrongdoing in 2017, as well as that of Su Bing-kun, who was cleared of wrongdoing after 32 years, as well as that of Lin Jin-gui, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, in 2023.
Cases of miscarriage of justice are systemic issues. Errors made at each step of the process or a consequent inattentive to detail raise the risks of errors in the judicial system.
As such, through systematic change, we must try to fix the gaps in the legal system and strengthen protections for human rights. Furthermore, we must set up effective safeguards and corrective mechanisms in order to avoid future mistakes.