(Staff Reporter)
To promote just and reasonable sentencing, the Judicial Yuan initiated the “Study on Sex Offender Sentencing” and the initial statistical analysis has been completed. A prototype of the “Sex Offender Sentencing Information System” has also been developed and made accessible online for judges to retrieve references for sentencing. Continued endeavors would be made to expand the scope of sentencing study and analysis through integration of the information system and criminal procedure reform to reduce inconsistency in sentencing as well as increase the predictability and suitability of sentencing.
In light of the incessant demand from various sectors for reasonable sentencing, the Judicial Yuan created the Sex Offender Sentencing Analysis and Study Team in February, headed by Secretary General Lin Jin-fang, to work out a sentencing system similar to those applied in the US, the UK and Australia to provide judges with references and increase the commensurability of sentencing with the crime committed while taking the principles of proportionality and equality into account. With the assistance of criminal judges as well as statistics and information specialists, the team studied the rulings against sex offenders decided at district courts across the country between Jan. 1 2007 and Dec. 31 2010. Statistical analysis was performed on the range of sentences administered, the factors taken into consideration, sentence reductions given in accordance with Article 59 of the Criminal Law, and reprieves given according to Article 74. Discussion meetings were held among focus groups such as judges, prosecutors, lawyers, scholars, women’s groups, and social welfare organizations to establish the consensus on the factors to be considered in sentencing and the sentencing criteria to be the foundation of the sentencing information system. Hopefully, the system would be able to provide referential patterns of sentencing for judges and the sentences made could meet the expectation of the public and thus increase the predictability of sentencing and reduce unnecessary appeals. An independent committee will be created to formulate the sentencing criteria.
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