生死判決與教化矯正合理期待可能之糾葛──從最高法院幾則生死判決改判案例談起

Twist between Death Penalty and the Reasonable Expectation of Correction: From the Perspective of Some Reversed Supreme Court Cases

"法院在面對罪證確鑿的殺人案件，甚至是更嚴重的手段兇殘的強盜殺人、強制性交殺人、擄人勒贖殺人的結合犯，究竟是要判生還是判死，法官在面對這樣一個生死難題時，要如何抉擇呢？是被告殺人當下的其情可憫？還是手段兇殘？或是被告法庭上聲淚俱下的懺悔？抑或是毫無悔意？或者是在刑事政策上被告有矯正改善的可能性？這是否隱含著個人的道德價值觀決定這一切？能否有個客觀可依循的規則？近年已成為頗常出現的死刑選擇因素，實務上亦已將「教化可能性」用在審酌死刑迴避因素之上，亦即以行為人是否在惡性重大的前提下，因具有某程度之教化可能性而迴避死刑之適用。
所謂的矯正教化可能性，究其實質而言，是被告真實的悔悟，願意在現行矯正制度下可以教化呢？或是被告一時懼死而在法庭上的表演呢？人心難解，人在生死交關時，其心所思何人可得而知之，如果最高法院只是以幾個小時的檢辯雙方的量刑辯論，且這個生死判的辯論是被告不能出庭情況下，由法官判斷被告有無矯正教化的期待可能性，其實難到不就只是法官個人有限生活經驗的主觀認知嗎！所謂被告有矯正教化期待可能性而予以免死而判生，難到不就是上下交相賊，以成此廢死之名哉？而有著隱含死刑宣告與否是審判者個人死刑存廢論根深的理念所展現的疑慮。"

"When facing a murder case or other serious homicide cases with hard evidence, whether a judge would render the death penalty might be affected by the motive of the accused, the means adopted by the accused, the extent of remorse of the accused, and the possibility of correction in terms of criminal policy. Does it imply that the morality decides? If there is objective standard to follow? Recently, the possibility of correction as well as chances to avoid the capital punishment which predicates the seriousness of the accused’s bad characteristic becomes the main concern in practice to render the death penalty.
Does the so-called possibility of correction mean the real remorse? Or just a judicial performance in open court to avoid death? If the Supreme Court only decides the question just based upon argument of the parties without appearance of the accused, it might reflect only the limited experience of judges’ subjective opinions. And the possibility of correction might hence become just a pretext to abolish the death penalty substantially which results in questions regarding the idealism of the death penalty of judges."