Lawyer Harry Roque, with fellow counsel and members of Jennifer Laude's family, speaks at a press conference following the pre-trial hearing of the charges against US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton for the death of the Filipino transgender last October. (photo by Ansbert B. Joaquin, InterAksyon.com)
OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines -- The possibility of a plea bargain for US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton was taken up during the pre-trial hearing Tuesday of the charges filed against him for the death of Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude.
Harry Roque and Evelyn Ursue, the lawyers of the Laude family, stopped short of categorically saying they would not agree to a plea bargain but made it clear their clients want to see Pemberton behind bars.
At a press conference following the hearing, which Pemberton attended, Roque said the introduction of the plea bargain was a new provision of the rules of procedure.
“We are in the process of studying the possibility of having a plea bargain, but the position of the Laude family has not wavered -- we want justice for Jennifer and the whole Filipino nation,” Roque said.
“The Laude family does not agree to any situation wherein the accused will not be punished by incarceration. He has to be punished to serve as a warning to others that, when they are in our territory, they have to abide by the laws of the independent Philippines,” he stressed.
Jennifer’s mother and sister both confirmed they want to see Pemberton jailed for the death of Jennifer, who was found choked to death, her face in the toilet bowl, in the room of the Olongapo lodge where she and the American had checked themselves in the night of October 11 last year.
“What is definite is that Pemberton will be jailed,” another Laude lawyer, Virgie Suarez, said.
“There would be out-of-court talks between prosecutors and accused within the week, but what we can assure you is justice and that Pemberton will definitely be jailed,” she said. “There will be no justice if there will be no incarceration.”
Asked if the accused had made any offers, Roque said there was none.
And in a loud voice, he added, “That is the truth, and we are not asking for anything.”
“What we are demanding is for justice, justice that the laws of the Philippines and its sovereignty should be respected. If anyone violates its laws, he should be punished,” Roque clarified.
“What we mean is that Pemberton should be jailed as a killer. We do not agree to any crime less than that. There will no longer be a repeat of the Smith (case). Itaga ninyo yan sa bato (You can carve that in stone),” Roque said, referring to the 2005 Subic rape case for which another American Marine, Daniel Smith, was initially found guilty.
Although the Makati City trial court had ordered Smith jailed in the local jail, the American was spirited out by Philippine authorities and handed over to the US embassy in Manila. Smith was eventually acquitted in 2009 by the Court of Appeals after his victim issued a statement saying she could not recall the events that transpired four years earlier.
However, Roque would give no direct reply to questions about whether or not the Laude family is willing to enter into a plea bargain agreement, or whether they want Pemberton jailed for the crime of murder or homicide.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/106628/possible-plea-bargain-raised-at-pre-trial-but-laude-family-firm-pemberton-has-to-do-time---lawyers
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