02/25/11 – The governor of Chihuaha, César Duarte, made a visit to Mexico City on Tuesday the 22nd of February in which he formally proposed an initiative to the lower chamber of Congress (Cámera de Diputados) to reform the types of punishments used in crimes related to kidnapping. He suggested that the General Law for Preventing and Sanctioning Crimes Related to Kidnapping (Ley General Para Prevenir y Sancionar los Delitos en Materia de Secuestro) should be modified so that individuals who commit crimes relating to kidnapping will be punished with a life-long prison sentence. Duarte emphasized that this reform is dedicated to targeting organizations that resort to tactics like these. He stated that, “individuals who commit these crimes are a danger to society and cannot be let loose.” He feels that this reform will send out an “inflexible message” to individuals who resort to using these methods and make them think twice before they act. Duarte also encouraged members of Congress to put aside their partisan interests in order to uphold the national interest.
Duarte proposed at least 13 different conditions for which kidnappers should be punished with a life-long prison sentence. These conditions include if the victim is under the age of 18 or over the age of 70, if violence is used in the act, if two or more individuals are involved in planning the kidnapping, if the kidnappers have any sort of friendship or relationship with the victim, if torture or sexual abuse occurs, if the victim is ill or becomes ill and is not properly medically attended to, and if the victim is currently or has been a member of a political or militaristic institution. This reform, which will be initiated at the federal level, is set to go into effect later this month on February 28.
Sources:
Estrop, Armando. “Pide Duarte cadena perpetua a plagiaries.” Reforma. 22 February, 2011.
Notimex. “Duarte pide federalizar cadena perpetua.” El Universal. 22 February, 2011.
