Pemberton pardon for killing of Jennifer Laude

Convicted American soldier Joseph Scott Pemberton expresses his gratitude to President Rodrigo Duterte for granting him absolute pardon, his lawyer says.

Lawyer Rowena Flores says Pemberton also extends his sympathy to the family of Jennifer Laude "for the pain he caused."

"In the years he spent in confinement, he spent much time contemplating the many errors in his ways regarding the night of October 11, 2014. He wishes he had the words to express the depth of his sorrow and regret," Flores says in a statement.

Convicted American soldier Joseph Scott Pemberton has been placed on the blacklist of the Bureau of Immigration as a consequence of the deportation order against him.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente says Pemberton is perpetually banned from coming back to the Philippines.

"The Bureau saw that he is a risk to public safety, having been found guilty of the crime.  Hence he was tagged as an undesirable alien, and will be expelled from the Philippines," Morente says.

Virginia Suarez, lawyer of the family of slain transgender woman Jennifer Laude, says she hopes convicted killer Joseph Scott Pemberton may find peace of mind as he returns to the United States.

"May he find peace of mind. Hoping he has learned from all these the value of life and dignity regardless of gender and nationality," Suarez says.

United States Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, convicted killer of Filipino transwoman Jennifer Laude, has been deported.

Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval says the military plane carrying Pemberton left the Philippines at 9:14 a.m. on Sunday.

The Bureau of Corrections says they have received a copy of the absolute pardon granted to US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton and “has now started processing his release.”

“BuCor is now in coordination with relevant agencies that are involved in the process,” bureau spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag adds. — Kristine Joy Patag

President Rodrigo Duterte justifies his decision to pardon Pemberton, saying it was not the American serviceman's fault if there was no record of his imprisonment.  

"There is no record of whether (the number of days) he served has been counted or not. If that's the case, it's not the fault of Pemberton. He is not required to keep his record of his own and characterize his behavior there inside while in prison," the president says.  

"It's not the fault of Pemberton that it was not computed...we should allow him the good character assumption," he adds.

Lawyer Virginia Suarez, counsel for the Laude family, calls the absolute pardon granted by President Duterte "another injustice not only to Jennifer Laude and family but a grave injustice to the Filipino people." 

"This is a travesty of Philippine sovereignty and democracy," she also says.

"This is another hallmark of Philippine's subservience to the US.There are too many Filipino convicts, already in their twilight years serving their sentence, why give it to a foreigner, a US soldier who committed an atrocious crime?"

President Rodrigo Duterte has granted Pemberton an absolute pardon.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra says the DOJ will file its own motion for reconsideration on the release order of US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton.

"We hope that the [Office of the Solicitor General] will join the DOJ in our motion," Guevarra tells reporters.

The DOJ intends to file its motion early next week.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros says she hopes the Olongapo court will consider the motion opposing the early release of Joseph Scott Pemberton, the US Marine who killed transgender woman Jennifer Laude in 2014.

"The swiftness by which our institutions have acted on a white, male American’s case is a privilege that is never accorded to many Filipinos. What message does this send to our citizens who have routinely suffered from our own justice system?" she also says. 

"To rub salt into the wound, since Jennifer’s death in 2014, Pemberton has never apologized for the immeasurable pain he caused the LGBTQI+ community, the country, nor the Laude family, even when they and their lawyer asked for it," she also says.

"Those years of deafening silence, and now an early release — this is not what Jennifer deserves. Pemberton paid the Laude family over P4.6 million in civil damages, but no amount can ever bring back the life and dignity of Jennifer."

An Olongapo has granted the motion of US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, who was convicted of killing transgender woman Jennifer Laude in 2014, for an early release through the Good Conduct Time Allowance law.

The court’s Presiding Judge Roline Ginez Jabalde issued the release order.

Laude’s family, however, has filed a motion for reconsideration, saying the convicted killer failed to show proof of good conduct. — AFP