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In this Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015 file photo, Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton, center, is escorted into court before being convicted of murder for killing Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude in the city of Olongapo. (AP)
MANILA, Philippines – US Marine Corps Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton was “very happy” when he learned that President Rodrigo Duterte granted him an “absolute pardon,” the military officer’s lawyer said Tuesday.
Attorney Rowena García-Flores said she spoke to Pemberton by phone Monday night through the guard of the latter detainee after news broke that Duterte had forgiven him for the death of transgender woman Jennifer Laude in 2014. .
“Basically, I told him about the new development. I said, ‘Have you heard the news?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I heard the news.’ So I asked him, ‘How do you feel about it?’ He said he’s very happy, ”García-Flores told ABS-CBN news channel.
“He’s kind of like a teenager when it comes to speaking and he wouldn’t really say long sentences to you and he wouldn’t discuss his emotions in detail, but I could hear that he’s very happy about his voice,” added the lawyer. .
García-Flores said she was surprised by Duterte’s decision and added that she did not request a pardon for her client.
Duterte said he decided to pardon Pemberton because the Marine did not receive fair treatment after opponents blocked his early release for good conduct during detention.
Garcia-Flores said he expected Pemberton to be released Friday from the restricted facility at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, where he is being held.
“I hope I can get out on Friday, but I don’t really know when compliance with the requirements of the National Immigration Office and the Immigration Office will be achieved,” he said.
“But what I can assure you is that they will not take him out of the country and he will comply with any requirements that exist before leaving the country,” he said.
Pemberton was convicted of manslaughter in 2015 for the murder of Laude and sentenced to a prison term of six to ten years. However, Olongapo City Regional Court of First Instance Section 74 recently granted his early release, saying that he had already served the maximum 10 years of his sentence after taking into account the good conduct time allowances he accumulated. while in custody.
The court order rekindled the perception that US military personnel who violate Philippine laws may receive special treatment under the Allied Visiting Forces Agreement, which provides the legal framework for temporary visits by US forces to the country for exercises. large-scale combat.
Pemberton, an anti-tank missile operator from New Bedford, Massachusetts, was one of thousands of U.S. and Filipino servicemen who participated in joint exercises in the country in 2014.
He and a group of other Marines were on leave after drills and met Laude and his friends at a bar in Olongapo, a town known for its nightlife on the outskirts of Subic Bay, a former US Navy base. the United States.
Laude was later found dead, head sunk in a toilet in a motel room, where witnesses said she and Pemberton had searched. A witness told investigators that Pemberton said he strangled Laude after discovering she was transgender.
With Associated Press
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