Costa Rica
Resumes Diplomatic Relations With Cuba
China
Continues Investing In Costa Rica
National
Emergency Commission Boss Quits
50 Year Prison
Sentences Constitutional
Public Employees Get Entire Semana Santa Off
It's official, US VP
Joe Biden Will Be Visiting Costa Rica On
March 29
UNA’s Guanacaste
Campus and Appalachian State University Sign
Agreement
50 Year Prison
Sentences Constitutional
Prison sentences of 50 years were suspended
while the Sala Constitucional
(Constitutional Court) heard an appeal by
Alexánder Vargas Rojas, an inmate of the La
Reforma prison maximum security, arguing
against articles 51 and 76 of the Código
Penal (Penal Code).
Vargas, who was sentenced to 173 years in
prison for the triple murder on November 22,
1995, argued the "alleged violations in the
legislative reform of the articles and the
perpetuity and the amount of degrading
punishment of 50 years imprisonment".
According to the filing of the inmate, which
is available online on the Sala's website,
Vargas also argues that although inmates
have the opportunity to educate themselves,
including earning a professional degree, the
length of the sentence does not allow the
right to exercise the profession.
The Sala rejected the arguments made by
Vargas and confirmed the the sentence and
reactived cases that were in suspension
during the filing, waiting on the Court's
decision.
In Costa Rica, even though courts hand down
sentences of 100 years or more, the maximum
to be served is 50 years. The 50 year
maximum is established in the text of
article 51 of the Código Penal.
Vargas was found guilty by the Tribunales
for the killing of an 18 month old infant
and his parents in the in the family home in
Llorente de Tibás.
The inmate has shown publicly his remorse
for the crimes and has spent the last 13
years studying and hoping for an early
release. |
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