Yesterday, the initiative was passed unanimously by 129 legislators on its first reading, and in the required second reading with 126 votes. The bill now moves to the Senate for further study and debate. The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Abel Martinez, said that the Penal Code had been in Congress for ten years in Congress and that the Executive Branch had set up a special committee of lawyers to introduce the changes.
The deputies approved the draft that now establishes a accumulated prison sentence of up to 60 years, increases the maximum sentence from 30 to 40 years and punishes femicide and the use of “devil’s acid” to injure someone with a sentence of 40 years in jail. Other changes make it difficult for a person who has been caught trafficking in drugs to get out of jail by simply posting bail. Participation in a group or gang with the intent of committing a serious offence is also punishable by 30 to 40 years in jail.
Article 100 of the Penal Code draft states that convictions for domestic violence now carry a sentence of 30 to 40 years in jail plus a fine of 30 to 40 minimum salaries when it causes death. The prison sentence is reduced to 20 to 30 years when the outcome causes permanent incapacity and 10 to 20 years when the incapacity is not permanent but is more than 90 days.
Article 131 states that those who use a firearm unnecessarily will be sentenced to a year and a day in prison with a fine of one or two salaries, and if someone is injured during the crime, the sentence imposed will be higher.
Article 207 calls for two to three years in prison for minor offences, increasing to four to 10 years for more serious crimes. For example, if someone is killed during a robbery the sentence is 20 to 30 years, plus the corresponding fine.
Receiving stolen goods is punishable by two to three years in jail with a fine of seven to nine salaries.
The deputies also approved Article 85 of the Penal Code that now disallows citizens to sue government officers for corruption. This change is being roundly criticized. The National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (ANJE) calls this change unacceptable. The most controversial part of Article 85 states that from now on, no citizen can issue a writ against any public servant for violations committed in office.
According to Laura Pena Izquierdo, president of ANJE, it is an embarrassment that the Penal Code has been approved with the elimination of the third paragraph of Article 85 that backed the right of any citizen to issue a writ against a public servant who may have committed a crime or for violations of human rights while on the job.
ANJE highlighted other parts of the Code that affirm that all people are equal under the law, while urging the Executive Branch not to support the modification of the Code as it was unconstitutional, illegal and sent the wrong message to society, especially coming from a government that has vowed to confront corruption.
The Senate has called for open hearings to the revisions made by the Chamber of Deputies for 22 and 29 April.
ANJE califica como “inaceptable” que los ciudadanos no puedan querellarse contra funcionarios
http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2014/4/1/316650/Camara-de-Diputados-aprueba-el-Codigo-Penal