Lawyers ask that a distinction be made in the pardon so that the big drug lords do not benefit.
In the midst of the worst prison crisis in the country, the Government launched one of the measures announced days ago: to grant pardons to inmates with terminal and catastrophic illnesses. For this purpose, the president issued Executive Decree 265 on Monday night.
This measure consists of the total forgiveness of the sentence and seeks to reduce the overcrowding that currently exists in prisons, especially in the Penitentiary, the scene of a massacre that until yesterday accounted for 65 deaths.
This pardon includes inmates with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and TB-HIV co-infections.
And although the decree specifies certain parameters and exclusions of the measure, there are concerns about the scope of the benefit and the process that is in charge of the National Service for Attention to Persons Deprived of Liberty (SNAI).
To qualify for the benefit, inmates must have an enforceable sentence, not register pending criminal proceedings against them and not be convicted of imprescriptible crimes, as well as embezzlement, influence peddling, illicit association, human trafficking.
The decree details that those who have been sentenced for crimes against life (murder), crimes against sexual integrity (rape), violence against women, torture, cruel treatment, genocide, against humanity, influence peddling, usurpation cannot benefit. , simulation of public functions, figurehead, illicit enrichment, extortion, money laundering, illegal money raising and organized crime.
Julio César Cueva, criminal lawyer, indicates that 25% of the inmates are serving sentences for robbery and more than 30% of those who are imprisoned nationwide are serving sentences for drug-related crimes (micro-trafficking and drug trafficking).
He believes that the decree could benefit micro-traffickers. Hence, he emphasizes that care must be taken that people sentenced for large drug shipments are not leaked.
The decree does not distinguish between the patients diagnosed until what date. “Tomorrow a prisoner can be infected with tuberculosis, and a lawyer with a habeas corpus You can get it out, because you can’t discriminate against it, ”Cueva explains.
The lawyer Kléver Sigueza Suárez agrees that the decree should have a distinction, because the big drug lords can benefit, who could demonstrate that they are sick and that they do not have other pending processes.
In this sense, the lawyer indicates that periodic surveillance mechanisms should be established to verify whether that person has not deceived those who administer the prisons.
“This can open a gap to falsify medical reports, why was a classification not made in terms of people for drug trafficking?”, Says Siguenza.
He recalls that when Rafael Correa issued a similar decree years ago, he did it specifically to benefit the drug trafficking mules, which were a minority population, and not the drug traffickers.
Procedure to execute disposition
The SNAI will be in charge of verifying the identity of inmates who meet the stipulated requirements to obtain clemency.
A source from that entity mentioned that requests for clemency will not be received. He said that in the coming days the president would announce how many would be the beneficiaries and that these have been determined according to the data that have already been collected by the institution regarding who is sick. Also to prevent hundreds of alleged inmates with ailments from suddenly appearing.
Rosa L., mother of a 28-year-old young man who is imprisoned for stealing a cell phone, hopes that her son will be one of the beneficiaries. Last week she made a request for her only son to be transferred from the Litoral Penitentiary to the Regional prison, as she assured that they were not treating him for the tuberculosis that he acquired since he arrived at the prison a year ago.
“They told me that they had already treated him, but it’s a lie. I managed to talk to my son’s partner and he told me it’s a lie: he’s very skinny in his cell; and that sometimes they give him a paracetamol, but even for that you have to pay, “he said.
Ricardo Camacho, a former SNAI official, explained last year that in the Penitentiary there is a special pavilion for people suffering from tuberculosis, but indicated that the environment and the number of people make infections possible. “In front of that pavilion (of infected people) is another one and they divide them 20 meters, but the bacteria is in the air and is transmitted,” he said.
Pardon of traffic detainees
On Monday, Executive Decree 264 was also issued, which grants pardon to any person deprived of liberty who has been sentenced for the traffic offenses provided for in articles 383 or 386 of the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP).
Article 383 establishes a penalty of five to fifteen days in prison, and a reduction of five points in the driver’s license, for the person who drives a vehicle whose tires are smooth or in poor condition.
Article 386 establishes a penalty of three days, a fine of a basic salary and a reduction of 10 points in the license for first class traffic violations, among which are: people who drive without having obtained a license, the driver who is missing work to the authority or traffic agent and the driver who exceeds the speed limits.
The lawyer Julio César Cueva considers that the sentences are so short that, regardless of whether there is a prison for 3 or 15 days, these people will not substantially influence the reduction of overcrowding.
“They don’t even go to the Penitentiary, but they are in the Ecuadorian Transit Commission. As far as I know, the deprivation of liberty due to traffic is due to death and injuries, ”says Cueva.
The decree stipulates that in no case does this pardon extinguish the obligation of integral reparation that each of the receivers of the pardon is responsible for, maintaining even those of a pecuniary nature. Neither are the fines or other non-custodial penalties imposed by a final sentence extinguished. (I)
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
