Philippine trial of US Marine begins after plea bargain fails
Date
3/25/2015 11:52:33 AM
(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Pemberton aged 19 at the time of the killing would face 40 years in jail if found guilty of murder.
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Joseph Scott Pemberton (third left) is escorted into the courtroom for his scheduled trial at Olongapo city on Monday. — AP Olangapo (Philippines) — The murder trial of a US Marine accused of killing a transgender woman in the Philippines began on Monday after plea bargain negotiations fell apart.
Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton appeared in court for the start of the trial five months after he allegedly murdered Jennifer Laude in a red light district hotel. Prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos told reporters there had been plea bargain discussions between both sides to settle the case but no agreement was reached by Monday so the trial began.
Laude’s relatives said they had been offered 21 million pesos ($468000) in exchange for their approval to lower the charge from murder to homicide.
“No amount of money could pay for the years I spent raising my child” Julita Cabillan Laude’s mother told reporters. “What they did to my child was gruesome. Just because we are poor doesn’t mean we can’t fight for justice.”
However one of Pemberton’s lawyers Benjamin Tolosa insisted the marine’s legal team did not offer any money. “It has been insinuated the demand came from us and that’s absolutely false. It’s contrary to what happened” Tolosa told reporters at the end of the first day of the trial.
Pemberton aged 19 at the time of the killing would face 40 years in jail if found guilty of murder.
The maximum penalty for homicide in the Philippines is 20 years in jail. He declined to enter a plea at pre-trial hearing last month as his appeal to have the case dismissed is waiting to be heard in a higher court.
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