大臺北地區民眾對於保留與執行死刑意向與影響因素之初探

An Examination of the Correlates of Public Attitudes toward the Death Penalty in the Taipei Metropolitan Area

本文檢視臺灣地區民眾對於死刑政策存在之立論依據，主要有兩個立場，嚇阻理論與應報（正義）理論。進一步探究過去民意調查對於死刑的支持程度後發現，超過七成以上的民眾對於死刑仍然抱持著支持的態度或不支持廢除的立場，即使臺灣自1989年解嚴以來，死刑執行人數逐年遞減，殺人犯罪案件數也逐年下降的情況下，民意支持死刑的趨勢，並沒有多大改變，但對於有配套措施進而支持廢除死刑的立場，有與日遞增的趨勢。此外，相較於過去研究多探究臺灣地區民眾對於死刑存廢意見，針對大臺北地區市民的想法，甚少深究；特別是針對哪些因素會影響民眾死刑的態度，亦付之闕如。基此，研究者於2014年5月利用電話民調方式，取得1,806位設籍大臺北地區18歲以上的民眾，進行死刑意向的調查後發現，高達86.5%的受訪民眾「支持死刑制度應該保留」；再者，高達90.0%的受訪民眾「支持法務部依法執行死刑」，進一步分析後發現大臺北地區市民中，已婚或有婚姻事實者、居住的行政區人口數愈多者以及新北市民顯著地表達出支持保留與執行死刑的立場。在這樣高度支持死刑保留與執行的民意下，本文認為法務部當前逐年分階段廢除死刑的政策，在兼顧人權與現況，已達到了全民社會安全的保障、被告程序正義的彰顯以及被害者實體正義的體現之三贏目標。

The results from the public opinion polls show that there has been a strong support for the death penalty in Taiwan society over the past two decades. Public support for the death penalty persists even after the number of executions and murder cases started declining in 1997. While a considerable amount of studies have examined the public opinion on the death penalty in Taiwan in general, little research has focused on the Taipei metropolitan area, the largest urban area in Taiwan, especially after the occurrences of a couple of infamous killings (e.g., the mass and indiscriminate stabbing spree in a Taipei Metro train in 2014). To date, no studies have been conducted to investigate the factors that are associated with public support for the death penalty among Taiwanese. Using the survey data of 1,806 respondents collected in the Taipei metropolitan area in May 2014, this study fills the void examining the levels and correlates of public support for the death penalty. The results suggest that approximately 86% of the survey respondents were in favor of keeping capital punishment. At the same time, an overwhelming majority (90%) supported for the execution of death row inmates by the Ministry of Justice. Findings drawn from a series of Logistic regression models indicate that respondents who are married and live in an area with higher population density reported higher levels of support for keeping capital punishment and practicing executions. Policy implications that stem from the key findings are discussed.