Despite popular belief that juveniles here are never charged, tried, convicted, or sentenced, there is proof that minors being convicted of major crimes are receiving stiff sentences of incarceration.
Here are a few examples ..from Ministerio Publico reports.
Superior Juvenile Court confirms sentence for three teenagers for double homicide in David
A sentence of 16 years of imprisonment was imposed on three young people, by the Superior Court of Childhood with headquarters in Panama, which confirmed the sentence issued in the first instance by a Criminal Judge of Adolescents in Chiriquí where these persons are held responsible of the double homicide against David Monje of 18 years and of a minor of 14 years of age, which happened in the district of David, in January of 2015.
During the oral trial held in May, the Public Ministry through the Specialized Prosecutor Jonhy Torres Villarreal managed to accredit the evidence confirming the guilt of these people, with the commission of the facts, which allowed issuing the sentence No. 13 where the penalty is set to comply, for these people who at the time of the events had, two of them 17 and one 15 years.
The events that caused the tragic event in which these two victims lost their lives were for the date of January 17, 2015, after they disappeared, which led to their search and days later the bodies were found by residents of the Port sector Pital, in the corregimiento of Las Lomas.
For this crime, another adult person is sentenced to prison, who was sentenced in a trial under the parameters of the Inquisitorial System to a prison term of 30 years. Likewise, an adolescent who declared himself confessed to the facts accepted a penalty agreement and, prior to the trial, was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment.
Two Minors Receive 21 Year Sentences
A sentence of 21 years, was imposed on two minors, 15 and 17 years of age, respectively, for their responsibility in the events that caused the death of the businessman Jorge Nodier Espinoza Castle, who lost his life on 17 September 2015, when three people entered his place of business with a gun in a shopping mall located in the city of David.
The facts showed that they seized cash,and physically assaulted with a firearm Manuel Enrique Rodríguez and Juan Carlos Lezcano Santamaria, and also caused the death of Sr. Espinoza Castle.
The Juvenile Judge of the Province of Chiriqui, with functions of a Criminal Judge, declared both criminally liable, after listening to the evidence submitted by the Prosecution of Adolescents of the Public Ministry, which were based on the testimony of witnesses and victims; the recognition that was carried out against the adolescents, as well as reports of the Division specialized in adolescents of the Subdirectorate of Judicial Investigation and in the testimonies addressed during the trial by the units of the DIJ, who participated in the research.
The maximum sentence of 12 years in reformatory was handed down against each one of the teenagers involved in this process for the crime of aggravated homicide.
For the crime of attempted homicide, they imposed the penalty to each of 6 years, and for the theft they were sentenced to 3 years in prison and for the crime of personal injury the sentence is 2 years of guidance and supervision.
Christopher Aaron Tejada, 20 years old, was also convicted for this crime in another hearing and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
http://ministeriopublico.gob.pa/crimen-empresario-condenan-dos-menores-edad/
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