Home 
MANILA, Philippines?The table has turned on Cecilia Alcaraz for the third time after the Taiwan Supreme Court canceled the appellate court?s ruling commuting to life imprisonment the death sentence she received from a district court for robbing and killing a Taiwanese woman in 2007, it was learned Friday.
The Supreme Court decision, which also remanded the case back to the Taiwan appellate court in Kaohsiung for ?fresh proceedings,? stemmed from the appeal of both parties to the crime?Alcaraz?s and the family of the slain woman Chiu Mei Yun, a broker for English language jobs, the Philippine government representation in Taiwan said.
Alcaraz wanted the Supreme Court to grant a complete pardon, while Chiu?s family wanted the death sentence meted out by the district court restored, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) said.
Considering the appeals of both parties, the Taiwan Supreme Court also noted that the appellate court?s ?judgment was clearly inconsistent and contradictory, giving sufficient reason to remand the case to the appellate court.?
When asked if Alcaraz will undergo another trial, Meco said it is not clear yet what type of proceedings the appellate court would decide to take. However, it said it has already prepared the legal team for Alcaraz?s defense.
?Meco officials have gone to the Kaohsiung detention facility to visit Cecile and go over the English translation of the SC decision with her,? said Meco Resident Representative Ambassador Antonio Basilio.
The Supreme Court decision was received by Alcaraz?s lawyer, Jiao Wen Cheng, last week.
Alcaraz was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by the Kaohsiung District Court in September last year. However, her lawyers succeeded in overturning the death sentence, which the appellate court reduced to life imprisonment last May.
