A man, Xie Wenxiong, hacked his wife and sister-in-law to death in the street last year, shocking the society. The Collegiate Court of the People's Court of the New Taipei District Court held that Xie Nan only killed two people, which did not meet the concept of killing "majority" in the "113-year Constitutional Judgment No. 8". It believed that more than three people must be killed to deserve the death penalty. Xie Nan was ultimately sentenced to two life sentences for murder. The New Taipei District Prosecutor's Office filed an appeal today, arguing that "multiple people" did not exclude the two people. The father surnamed Zhang, a family member of the deceased, said that Xie Nan took two lives in broad daylight and hoped that the judiciary would face up to the pain suffered by the victims and their families and give them the appropriate sentence.
According to the prosecutor's investigation, at about 11 o'clock in the evening on May 17 last year, Xie Nan violently assaulted his wife named Zhang. The victim therefore applied for a civil protection order to the New Taipei District Court and was approved. Unexpectedly, at about 1 p.m. on July 6, when Xie Nan went to Zhang's residence to move personal belongings, he had an argument with Zhang again. This time he violently threw the money box outside the residence. Zhang was frightened and called the police. The police sent Xie to jail for violating the protection order. After the prosecutor's interrogation, he was sent back without bail.
Xie Nan bought the murder weapon that night and drove to his wife's residence in Tucheng the next day. At about 11 a.m., he saw his wife and sister-in-law riding a motorcycle together. He drove into his wife and sister-in-law and attacked two people to death with a kitchen knife and a small aluminum rod. He fled the scene immediately after committing the crime and discarded the murder knife and aluminum rod along the way. When he found that he was being followed by the police, he rushed to the Changhua Branch Shengang Police Station to surrender, claiming that he had mental illness.
The New Taipei District Court Collegiate Court pointed out in the verdict that although Xie Nan killed his wife and sister-in-law, causing great pain to the family members, according to the Constitution, the killing of "many people" in Judgment No. 8 should be closer to the concept of "majority". In terms of the number of people alone, more than three people must be killed to meet the requirements for the death penalty. Although Xie Nan killed two people with a kitchen knife in just a few minutes, he did not cause the deceased to suffer additional torture or pain before death. It was also different from using weapons, explosives or extreme torture that could cause multiple deaths. Therefore, it was determined that the criminal method was not particularly cruel.
The father surnamed Zhang, a family member of the deceased, was dissatisfied and said, "One person is also a life, and two people are also a life." He could not accept killing more than 3 people as the definition of "multiple people." He even questioned, "Now if you kill 2 people, you will need 3 people to be sentenced. In the future, if you kill 3 people, will you say it will take 4 people to be sentenced?" Xie Nan took two lives in broad daylight. He hopes that the judiciary will face up to the pain endured by the victims and their families and give them the appropriate sentence.
The father surnamed Zhang mentioned that on the day of the incident, his sister was accompanying her elder sister to handle matters. Unexpectedly, she was found by Xie Nan on the way back. The surveillance cameras captured the scene. After he saw the people, he prepared to wait for them to come out, and then drove into them, knocking them down first. The whole case was not just a temporary incident, and it was difficult to accept that he was not sentenced to death in the end.
In response to the prosecutor's appeal, the family said: "This is our only hope. We hope that we can appeal all the way to the death penalty. Now there are so many people on the Internet, and everyone is unconvinced and feels it is unfair. After killing two people, and killing like this in broad daylight, does he still have the law in his heart?"
