Rep. Erik Morris sentenced to 6 years for paramilitary ties

It's worth pointing out that the process was handled by the Supreme Court itself, not the Attorney General.

The Procuraduría, however, had previously considered the evidence to be weak and called for the Representative's release.

The Supreme Court seems to have disagreed. In addition to his sentence, Morris also has to pay a fine of 2000 minimum salaries, and has no access to the benefits of house arrest and "condena condicional" (whatever that means, I'm no lawyer).

Whether he'll serve the full 6 years or not, however, remains to be seen.

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Judiciales /
Seis años de cárcel para Erik Morris por nexos con paramilitares

Fuente: Caracol 12/19/2007 - 11:20:00


La Corte Suprema de Justicia condenó a seis años de prisión al representante a la cámara Erik Morris Taboada, por sus vínculos con grupos de autodefensa.

El presidente de la Sala Penal de la Corte Suprema de Justicia, Alfredo Gómez Quintero, afirmó que se encontraron evidencias suficientes para demostrar los vínculos del congresista de sucre con grupos paramilitares, a pesar de la petición que en principio hizo la procuraduría que había solicitado la absolución.

El Magistrado resaltó que gran parte del fallo se basó en el testimonio del ex jefe paramilitar Jairo Castillo Peralta alias "Pitirri".

Agregó que Morris, condenado por el delito de concierto para delinquir, tendrá que pagar una multa de 2.000 salarios mínimos y no tendrá derecho a los beneficios de condena condicional y prisión domiciliaria

Morris fue ex alcalde y ex gobernador del departamento de Sucre. Al momento de entregarse a la justicia era Representante a la cámara por el partido Colombia Democrática. Actualmente se encuentra detenido en la cárcel de la Picota en Bogotá.

http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/522354.asp

By juancegomez on Dec 19, 2007, 10:33 in Politics & the war.

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