Roberto Lara and Roderick Licayan, two Filipinos sentenced...
Roberto Lara and Roderick Licayan, two Filipinos sentenced to death and reprieved four days before their due execution on January 30, were granted a retrial after the country's supreme court said new evidence could prove their innocence
Roberto Lara and Roderick Licayan, two Filipinos sentenced to death and reprieved four days before their due execution on January 30, were granted a retrial after the country's supreme court said new evidence could prove their innocence.
Eight of the 14 Supreme Court judges voted to suspend the execution and send the kidnapping-for-ransom case against the two to a regional trial court.
The court said it had given weight to affidavits from the two men that suggested Lara had played no part in the kidnapping.
They were among seven people accused of the 1998 kidnapping of a Chinese trader and his assistant. "Praise the Lord," said Persida Acosta, their defence lawyer.
Eight of the 14 Supreme Court judges voted to suspend the execution and send the kidnapping-for-ransom case against the two to a regional trial court.
The court said it had given weight to affidavits from the two men that suggested Lara had played no part in the kidnapping.
They were among seven people accused of the 1998 kidnapping of a Chinese trader and his assistant. "Praise the Lord," said Persida Acosta, their defence lawyer.
— SOURCES
- (Sources: Reuters News, 19/02/2004)