Relatives of the inmates say that in order to declare their imprisoned relative seriously ill, they would ask them for between 4,000 and 5,000 dollars, and thus give them a pardon.
Terminally ill inmates with catastrophic illnesses began to be released. Luis M., an inmate of the Loja prison, became the first inmate to receive a presidential pardon at the national level through Executive Decree 265.
The Government ordered pardons for a certain group of the prison population in order to reduce overcrowding, in the midst of the prison crisis.
Luis M. has a coronary disease and had a 10-year sentence, but in recent months he had suffered several relapses and the same director of the Loja prison made the request to release him.
Yesterday, outside the Litoral Penitentiary, there were families who were trying to get their prisoners out. María Eugenia, Augusto’s mother, was outside the Penitentiary yesterday. He said he did not have the money to pay for the pardon and said that his son already served 60% of the sentence last July and that he has not yet been granted pre-freedom, as the law says.
“They are capable of delaying giving pre-freedom to force us to pay to obtain a pardon. They told me that the doctor should receive at least $ 300, “said the woman, who explained that her son was arrested 18 months ago with drugs.
But not only María Eugenia arrived at the Penitentiary on Monday. There was also Olimpia B. with a series of documents that would prove that Grabriel G., her eldest son, is seriously ill with tuberculosis.
“He has a hole in his right lung. Yesterday they took him to the Guasmo hospital, but they have already returned him to jail. He has already met 60% for theft and could benefit from the semi-open regime, but I want them to give him a pardon, ”said the older adult.
Decree 265 specifies that forgiveness of the sentence will be granted to those suffering from catastrophic illnesses, terminal illnesses, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and TB-HIV co-infection. Meanwhile, Decree 264 includes those convicted of traffic offenses provided for in articles 383 or 386 of the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP), which do not involve deaths or injuries.
Tuberculosis is a disease considered common in prison, which has generated a debate, as they believe that inmates could even be infected on purpose to benefit from the benefit given by President Guillermo Lasso.
Even several lawyers, such as Julio César Cueva and Kléver Siguenza Suárez, consider the medical evaluation important and that these certificates are not obtained fraudulently.
Among the inmates benefiting from the pardon could be detained for robbery and drug trafficking.
The psychiatrist Juan Montenegro, an expert of the Judiciary, this Monday went to the Guayaquil jail to evaluate an inmate and commented that falsifying a medical certificate is complex.
He said that the judge listens to specialized experts who must corroborate that the disease indicated in the prison certificates is real. He explained that it can be compared with the medical history of the health center where the prisoner has been treated in recent years, as it indicates that a catastrophic illness does not develop overnight.
The health professional agrees with decongesting the prisons, but added that it would be important to create a ward for inmates with mental illnesses in the prison, as he indicated that there are some patients who are treated on an outpatient basis. There is a polyclinic there where a psychiatrist from the Ministry of Health attends, said Montenegro.
A source from the Penitentiary indicated that inside the prison, until Monday afternoon, the folders were being analyzed and the lists were being cleaned. There is still no list of who will benefit, nor is it known how many will be pardoned.
Along with this work, President Guillermo Lasso renewed this Monday for 30 days more the state of exception due to serious internal commotion in all the deprivation of liberty centers that make up the country’s social rehabilitation system, according to Executive Decree 276.
This Monday, the previously arranged regime expired and that is why the renewal is given. This allows, among other things, that the Armed Forces collaborate in the control of prisons, under the parameters of the Constitutional Court.
In this context, on Monday morning, a group of soldiers discovered that four women had spent the night inside the Zonal 8 Deprivation of Liberty Center, known as the Regional prison, where the gang leaders are.
In a report, the military indicated that the women left the jail and were going to a black truck, but they noted that they had not been seen entering the prison on that shift.
Upon reviewing the log, the military discovered that the four suspects entered jail on Sunday.
After inspecting the vehicle where the women were intended to go, the uniformed men found $ 15,000 in cash.
Due to this type of news, Ramiro García, president of the Pichincha Bar Association, mentioned that the renewal of the state of exception is important, although the legal expert considered that there is no single or definitive solution.
“For a true improvement of the prison system, a new model of administration and new laws are necessary. I think that the pardons are going to alleviate the overcrowding and that is going to help, ”García said. (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.
