2024-04-29 01:48:56
Various experts explained to EL DÍNAMO whether it is viable to return to the discussion about reinstating the death penalty, considering international treaties and their impact on a possible reduction in crime rates.
Although the last execution occurred more than 40 years ago and The condemnatory measure was eliminated from the Chilean Penal Code in 2001.this week the debate on the death penaltythis time, as an eventual solution to the country’s security crisis.
He was the regional governor of Valparaíso, Rodrigo Mundaca who stated that there was a pending discussion regarding this measure, pointing to crimes with a greater social connotation. “When I say fight it with the utmost rigor, I believe that there are discussions that are pending and that no one wants to establish“, he started saying in conversation with Súbela Radio.
In this way, he put on the table an example about “the discussion around the death penalty. I think that there is an issue that is pending“, held.
Although the regional authority later backtracked on its statements, ensuring that what the country needs is “a fundamental restructuring” to combat crime, the issue remained on the agenda, which is why unknowns emerge about what the replacement would entail. of the death penalty in Chile.
Is it possible to reinstate the death penalty in Chile?
The death penalty is a sentence that It was abolished in the country in 2001which is added to the various international treaties to which Chile is subscribed, which would prevent it from being replaced.
Nelson Caucoto, a human rights lawyer, told THE DYNAMO what is “an unnecessary debate. In Chile it is settled in the Constitution, in the fifth article that incorporates human rights treaties. Among them, the Pact of San José that prohibits reestablishing the death penalty that has already been abolished.”
In this way, the reinstatement of the death penalty “would imply the violation of the purpose and object of international treaties, specifically the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in its article six, and, in addition, the protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights. Human Rights regarding the abolition of the death penalty. Which entails serious consequences and sanctions for our country,” Miguel Silva, a lawyer specialized in human rights, assured EL DÍNAMO.
At the time, Chile adhered to these agreements with the purpose of guaranteeing and promoting the recognition of fundamental human rights, especially the right to life.
In this context, it seems that the debate is settled. However, experts point out that every time crimes of greater social connotation occur or security crises are faced, such as the one the country is currently experiencing, The idea emerges of discussing the reinstatement of the death penalty as a solution to these problems.
“Debates about the death penalty are revived due to social indignation caused by crimes of high public connotation, which are amplified by criticism of the performance of the courts of justice,” Claudio Pimentel, constitutional lawyer, pointed out THE DYNAMO.
Death penalty for serious crimes: Is it a solution?
Regarding the above, Miguel Silva maintained that “the death penalty sentence, in other countries, It is the way to definitively end crime, from a criminalistic point of view. Notwithstanding this, in our law there is a system of procedural guarantees.”
“This discussion is incongruous and illegal, and only has a political content, rather than a legal one. Well, there is no legal basis for its restoration in common crimes,” Silva reiterated.
On the other hand, Álvaro Castro, professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile, expressed to THE DYNAMO that “the reinstatement (of the death penalty) It would dismantle the design of criminal sanctions and their execution. Chile has, for the most serious cases, qualified life imprisonment, which prohibits the discussion of conditional freedom before forty years of effective imprisonment have been completed. This 40-year term ensures the seriousness of the sanction and protects the community.”
Continuing along those lines, Caucoto explained that said sentence “does not resolve anything. It does not deter, it does not prevent serious crimes. As a human work, “Justice is subject to errors and the death of a convicted person is already irreversible.”
“With good and expensive lawyers you can achieve better results. In the United States, African Americans and Hispanics are more affected by the measure and serious crimes remain the same. Sentencing to death is denying a person’s right to life. “This is what the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights says.”he added.
Under this scenario, Miguel Silva proposed that the solution has to do with greater investment in social reintegration.
“The experience of countries where prisons today are occupied as hotels (Europe) simply applied greater investments in the social reintegration of their defendants and this is what is needed in Chile. The fact that there are countries where mass incarceration takes place, although it may be an immediate measure, I do not believe that it will be completely effective over time, otherwise there is no way to rehabilitate and reintegrate the individual. He will be arrested and then what? ”He told EL DÍNAMO.
In which countries is this sentence still in force and how has it worked?
The death penalty is still applicable in countries in Asia, the Middle East and some in America, such as the United States, where it is still in force in certain states.
In relation to this last country, Silva explained that “in several cases there has been innocence of the accused, which is why in the United States It is becoming less and less busy and the same thing happens in other parts of the world.”
Regarding a possible decrease in the crime rate in these countries, Álvaro Castro commented: “The evidence indicates that the death penalty does not inhibit (crimes) and in the countries where it is applied, serious crimes continue to be committed.”
In this sense, he said that “what really inhibits, beyond the extreme harshness of the sanctions, It is the effectiveness of the police and that the sentences imposed are carried out. That is, what works is rapid police action, a criminal system that, once the conviction is achieved, ensures its execution and custodial sanction with special rules for requesting conditional release,” he concluded.