In March 1997, Congress adopted a law removing the...

In March 1997, Congress adopted a law removing the death penalty and providing for 30 years' imprisonment without parole for parricide, murder, treason and other crimes. This brought the Penal Code into line with the Constitution, which did not provide for the death penalty. The last execution was in 1974. In August 1999, the rape and murder of 10-year-old Patricia Flores in the capital, La Paz, sparked calls for reinstatement of the death penalty. Interior Minister Walter Guiteras said he agreed with the murdered child's parents that the death penalty should be used for crimes against children, but stated that the reintroduction of the death penalty would require a congressional amendment to the Bolivian constitution. During a Congressional debate held at the beginning of September 1999, a bill to reinstate the death penalty was rejected by a majority of parliamentarians.