2023-09-07 07:01:00
Around 5,000 mothers will be able to leave prison and return to their homes after the Ministry of Justice, headed by Néstor Osuna, established the conditions for a massive release that will set a precedent in the country’s justice policy. This is Decree 1451 with which the government of Gustavo Petro bets on the so-called humanization of the prison system through resocialization and guarantee of human rights.
Although in March of this year President Petro sanctioned Law 2292 of 2023 that gave benefits to women heads of households who were in prison, until now the decree establishing the rules for them to be released has been ready. .
According to what is read in the document signed by Minister Osuna, the women who will be released from prison will be those who are the head of the household, are serving sentences equal to or less than eight years and who are convicted of crimes that are contemplated in the Penal Code and that have been taken into account for the measure as theft, qualified theft, drug trafficking, trafficking, manufacture or possession of narcotics, illicit destination of furniture or real estate, among others.
To ensure the process of reintegration into society, mothers who are heads of households will have to comply with social service that includes a series of tasks such as the recovery of public spaces, assistance to vulnerable communities, support for victims, welfare, and animal protection. In addition, the Ministry of Justice will have to carry out evaluations every two years to assess progress.
In this context, to supervise the process of substitution of a custodial measure, a judge will be in charge of monitoring it, and in the event of non-compliance with the obligations indicated, it will be the one who determines the seriousness of the action and, incidentally, assesses whether it is need to apply due process.
But not all female heads of household who are in prison will be able to access the freedom that the decree promises. The document also established the exceptions, for example, the release will not be valid for those who are convicted of using minors to commit crimes and neither are those related to crimes of intrafamily violence.
On the other hand, the decree also makes it clear that the women who are beneficiaries of this freedom will be affiliated to the Social Security System and the Occupational Risk System; in the event that some cannot pay the contribution, they will be sent to the municipality’s Health Secretary so that the corresponding process can be initiated.
This decree materializes the Petro Government’s idea of humanizing justice and, incidentally, decongesting prisons and the judicial system. However, the idea has caused different positions in the political sector. While for some it is the first step in the future change in the criminal justice system in Colombia, for others it is to continue favoring criminals, as opposition personalities have stated.
In any case, while this massive release for the almost 5,000 mothers who are heads of households is becoming a reality, a bill is advancing in Congress to put the women’s rights agenda back in first place. This is project 242 of 2022 in which more benefits are promised for women seekers, recognized for dedicating their lives to finding their loved ones who disappeared in the midst of the armed conflict.
On August 16, the project passed two of the four debates necessary to become law, was approved in the House of Representatives and has mainly been promoted by legislators from the Historical Pact and groups of relatives of forced disappearance.
The idea of this project is part of recognizing the work and protecting the rights of these women, understanding them as builders of peace. In this sense, this protection is based on “the context to which women and searchers are exposed during their search for the disappeared, characterized by the suffering of different types of human rights violations and other crimes affecting the their physical and mental health”, explains the project that still has to be discussed and approved in the Senate.
Guarantees for search engines
The bill for women seekers that is running in Congress also seeks that they have access to subsidies or housing programs of interest, as well as guarantees of health, participation and reparation. In addition, to consecrate October 23 as the National Day of Recognition of Women and People Searching for Victims of Forced Disappearance, in homage to their contribution to the search and clarification of the Truth, recalling that on said date Fabiola Lalinde was arrested and imprisoned when he was carrying out an intense search for his son Luis Fernando Lalinde, who disappeared in Jardín, Antioquia.
#plan #mothers #prison