The Philippines Supreme Court ordered the release of...

The Philippines Supreme Court ordered the release of a death row inmate after it determined that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction for rape and murder. Joseph Re Tajada was convicted by the Sindangan Regional Trial Court, in Zamboanga del Norte, for raping and killing Sabina Ejalon, 13, on September 15, 1997. Following the high tribunal's decision, Bureau of Correction Director Ricardo Macala ordered Tajada's release from Muntinlupa Bilibid Prison's maximum security compound, where Tajada was kept for five years. Macala, in a radio interview, said it was clear that the lower court had erred in giving Tajada the death penalty. He said Tajada could avail himself of the Victims' Compensation Program of the Department of Justice that aims to give freed prisoners a fresh start when they go back to mainstream society.