Prison administrators face challenge as number of elderly prisoners increases

June 8, 2019June 8, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Agency of Corrections, aging society, prison administration, prisoner rights

As Taiwan faces the challenges of an aging population, prison administrators are also encountering the problem of an increase in the number of elderly prisoners requiring special care behind bars. According to statistics of the Ministry of Justice, Agency of Corrections, the number of elderly prisoners first exceeded 1,000 out of the total population of 60,000 inmates in 2015, and has been increasing year by year ever since. At the end of April, 2019, the number of prisoners over 65

Society

February 16, 2019February 16, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment death penalty, death row, prisoner rights, Taipei Detention Center

A man who has been awaiting execution since he was sentenced to death in 2010 applied to purchase an inflatable love doll at his own expense, but had his request rejected by prison authorities. Hsiao Renchun (蕭仁俊 ) made his request in writing to prison authorities late last year, asking that prison administrators provide a place to store the love doll, and promising that he would clean the device after using it. Hsiao, a baptized Christian, and model prisoner, also