judicial

Longer prison terms eyed

Some have argued that the maximum sentences prisoners face are not long enough.

The country currently caps criminal sentences at 3o years, except in the case of heinous murders.

la prensa

behind bars: As Panama’s crime rate has increased, some have called for longer prison sentences for violent crimes.1109918

Three times over the past 10 years the issue of imposing a life sentence for violent crimes has been raised in Panama.

In 1998, Victor Mendez Fabrega, a former deputy for the now-defunct Papá Egoró political party, was the first politician to bring up the subject, followed by Arnulfo Escalona, the Ministro de Gobierno y Justicia during the administration of Mireya Moscoso. In 2008, Juan Carlos Navarro used the issue as one of his campaign pledges during his presidential run.

All three proposals, two of which were discussed at the National Assembly, were rejected as they were considered unconstitutional and ineffective.

Today, however, when drug trafficking appears to have taken over the streets of Panama, homicides happen at a rate of at least one every two days, and domestic violence has broken all previous records, this issue has made people wonder how feasible or prudent life imprisonment would be as a punishment for murderers, drug dealers, thieves and child and women abusers.

Studies made by international organizations, such as Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch, indicate that neither a life sentence nor the death penalty are crime deterrents.

In addition, life imprisonment is seen as an extreme measure that violates human rights, especially if applied to minors.

Luis Gordon, director of the Sistema Penitenciario Nacional, noted that new legislation has increased the maximum prison sentence from 20 to 30 years, with an additional five years possible in cases of heinous murders.

Another issue that must be taken into consideration is the fact that the implementation of a life sentence would increase significantly expenditures made by the Sistema Penitenciario, as today it spends about $1,200 per annum per inmate at a ratio of $3.28 per day. There are a total of 10,383 prisoners in more than 30 facilities throughout the country.

If there are 800 convicted criminals prosecuted for murder and sentenced to the maximum penalty of 30 years, and all of them entered prison at an average age of 25, the Sistema Penitenciario will have to expend approximately $35,916 per person during their sentence. But if they are condemned to

life imprisonment, the amount would increase to an average of $59,250 per inmate, taking into consideration that they would spend almost 50 years in custody.

Beyond that, Gordon warned that, to house prisoners sentenced for life, the system would have to spend millions of dollars in the construction of special units, because, in his view, an individual living without the possibility of release will become a “real threat” to the prison guards and fellow inmates.

Since those inmates would have nothing to lose, they would probably be more likely to commit additional crimes while in custody.

Hence, Gordon said that instead of instituting a life sentence, Panamanian authorities should “give a chance” to the application of the new Criminal Code.

“In my opinion, 35 years are more than enough to reflect on the crime committed,” he said.

The director of the Instituto de Criminología of the Universidad de Panama, Aida Selles de Palacios, felt that life imprisonment is almost like a “slow death,” and said it is an extreme and cruel punishment.

For Magaly Castillo, of the Alianza Ciudadana pro Justicia, the solution to the crime problem is not the application of penalties such as life imprisonment, but rather that authorities seek to locate and punish offenders under existing guidelines.

“We have to ensure that the justice system works, and that those who commit crimes, pay,” Castillo said.