THE PHILIPPINES. COURT OF APPEALS UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR KIDNAP

the Court of Appeals in the Philippines affirmed the death penalty meted by a lower court to Judith Jatulan for kidnapping a five-year-old boy in 1995. In its 24-page decision, the Appeals Court 11th Division upheld the September 3, 2002 decision by Branch 73 of the Antipolo regional trial court, which sentenced Jatulan to death for kidnapping-for-ransom.
The Appeals Court said the lower court correctly ruled that there was no evidence that would have dismissed the case against Jatulan. It noted that the victim's testimony and those by three other minors Jatulan used in the kidnapping operation had been consistent. Court records showed that Jatulan abducted the victim on February 13, 1995 and then used three boys to deliver to the victim's family a ransom note demanding 250,000 pesos. Members of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission rescued the boy before the money could be delivered.