Taiwan's most famous death row convicts emerged blinking...

Taiwan's most famous death row convicts emerged blinking into freedom and a media scrum after the island's High Court declared them not guilty of a vicious double murder more than a decade ago.
Lawyers and human rights groups hailed the release of the "Hsichih trio" - who were spared execution only by the reluctance of a series of justice ministers to sign their death warrants - as a landmark in reform of Taiwan's criminal justice system.
The overturning of a guilty verdict approved by more than 40 judges during multiple trials and appeals gives weight to concerns that others among 100 or so convicts under sentence of death may also be victims of miscarriages of justice.
The three High Court judges found that there was "insufficient evidence" to support convictions against Su Chien-ho, 30, Liu Bin-lang, 30, and Chuang Lin-hsun, 31, for the murder of a husband and wife at their home in the northern town of Hsichih in March 1991.
The three had been convicted on the basis of their own confessions, later recanted, and the word of a fourth man whose fingerprints were found at the scene and who was executed for the crime in 1992.
The verdict was a vindication for human rights groups and family members who had lobbied judicial authorities and organised vigils in support of the three, turning them into Taiwan's most famous capital case.
Defence lawyers for the trio said the verdict marked an important precedent that could be cited in future to underline the need for a clear burden of proof in capital cases.
Anti-death penalty activists hope that doubts over the safety of high-profile convictions will prompt reconsideration of Taiwan's use of capital punishment. While the government officially advocates abolition, public opposition has meant that it has taken only cautious steps in that direction.