Life imprisonment in Spain explained

Life imprisonment in Spain was introduced by the Ley Orgánica 1/2015 in March 2015, effective from 1 July 2015.^[1] The sentence can be revised, so it is officially called "revisable permanent imprisonment" (Spanish; Castilian: prisión permanente revisable).

History

The legislation establishing such a sentence was passed with 181 votes in favour, 138 against and two abstentions. All votes in favour came from the governing People's Party.^[1]

Life imprisonment had previously been introduced in 1822 as a life sentence of forced labour, and in 1848 was revised as life in prison. In 1870, this was reformed to allow the possibility of parole after 30 years; at this time all life prisoners were detained in North Africa or the Canary Islands.^[2]

In 1928, the military dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera removed life imprisonment from the statute books, though the death penalty remained. Capital punishment was retained under Francisco Franco, and the maximum prison sentence was of 30 years.^[2] After the Spanish transition to democracy, the death penalty was abolished and the maximum prison sentence remained at 30 until November 2003, when the government of José María Aznar increased it to 40 years for convicted terrorists.^{[2] [3]}

After the adoption of the current statute in 2015, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) challenged it at the Constitutional Court. In October 2021, by seven votes to three, life imprisonment was deemed constitutional.^[4]

Murders are punished with life imprisonment in the following cases:^[4]

• When the victim is under the age of 16;
• When the victim is particularly vulnerable;
• When the murder takes place with sexual offences;
• When the murderer is part of a criminal organisation;
• When it is a multiple murder;
• When the victim is the monarch, consort or heir to the throne;
• When the victim is a foreign head of state or diplomat;
• Cases of Terrorism;
• Cases of genocide or crimes against humanity.

Convicts must serve between 25 and 35 years of their sentence, depending on the severity of their crimes, before being eligible for parole.^[4]

Cases

As of October 2021, 28 people have been sentenced to a reviewable permanent prison sentence, under the 2015 legislation. Five have been women. As of December 2019, after the conviction for the high-profile murder of Diana Quer, Galicia and Andalusia were the autonomous communities with the most life sentences, with three each.^[5] Four convicts had their sentences revoked and replaced by determinate prison sentences.

• David Oubel

First person to be sentenced to a PPR. He was convicted on 6 July 2017 for the murder of his two minor daughters.^[6]

• Sergio Díaz: Convicted on 23 March 2018 for brutally killing his partner's disabled grandfather for stabbing and beating with a marble statue.^[7] In January 2019, the Supreme Court quashed the sentence on a technicality due to the way in which the victim's disability was handled as an aggravating factor, and Díaz was instead sentenced to 24 years in prison.^[8]
• Daniel Montaño: Convicted on 26 September 2018 for murdering a 17-month-old girl.^[9]
• Marcos Miras: Convicted on 17 October 2018 for murdering his 11-year-old son.^[10]
• Patrick Nogueira

Convicted on 15 November 2018, three permanent prison sentences for killing his uncle and his two infant cousins, and another 24 years for the murder of his aunt.^[11]

• Pablo Catalán: Sentenced to reviewable permanent prison on 7 March 2019 for murdering and raping a woman. First conviction in Catalonia.^[12]
• Francisco Salvador: First conviction for a case of gender violence. He was convicted on 7 April 2019 for murdering and raping his former partner.^[13]
• Enrique Romay Reina: Convicted on 24 April 2019 for attempted rape and subsequent murder of a woman.^[14]
• José Rafael García Santana: Convicted on 8 May 2019, for stabbing to death his disabled wife.^[15] The sentence was annulled due to a lack of substantiation by the jury; in September 2020 in a retrial García Santana was sentenced to 23 years in prison.^[16]
• Roberto Hernández: Convicted on 5 June 2019 for raping and murdering his partner's daughter.^[17]
• Ana Julia Quezada

Convicted on 30 September 2019 for murdering her partner's son. She was the first woman to be sentenced to a PPR.^[18]

• Mounir Ayad: Convicted on 6 November 2019 for murdering his partner and son.^[19]
• José Enrique Abuín Gey, aka "El Chicle". Convicted on 17 December 2019 for the murder of Diana Quer.^[20]
• Ada de la Torre: Convicted on 27 December 2019 for murdering her 9-year-old daughter. Second woman to be sentenced to a PPR.^[21]
• Gonzalo Sánchez C.: Convicted on 14 February 2020 for murdering his disabled aunt and partner, who died of multiple hemorrhages.^[22]
• Rubén Mañó Simón: Convicted on 12 August 2020 of raping and murdering a 15-year-old female friend.^[23]
• Antonio Pérez Vázquez and Cristina Jiménez Moraleda: Convicted on 30 September 2020 of constant abuse and fatal strangling of the latter's two-year-old son.^[24] In April 2021, the sentence was quashed by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Valencian Community on the basis of premeditation not being proven; the parents had taken the boy to hospital, where he later died. They were instead each sentenced to 20 years for causing his death, plus three years for cruelty.^[25]
• Iván Pardo Pena: Convicted on 7 October 2020 of abusing and murdering his 8-year-old niece.^[26]
• Alejandra García Peregrino: Convicted on 25 November 2020 of murdering her partner's 8-year-old foster son.^[27]
• Ana María Baños: Convicted on 9 April 2021 of murdering her son 7-year-old foster son.^[28]
• Norbert Feher, aka "Ígor el Ruso": Convicted on 29 April 2021 of for the murder of the rancher José Luis Iranzo and the two civil guards Víctor Romero and Víctor Jesús Caballero.^[29]
• Silvia Acebal Martínez: Convicted on 27 May 2021 of the murder of her newborn baby with 53 stab wounds. First PPR sentence in Asturias.^[30]
• Francisco Javier Martínez Broch: Convicted on 1 June 2021 for the murder of his parents and his brother.^[31]
• Juan Francisco López Ortiz: Convicted on 8 June 2021 for the kidnap, rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Catalonia in 2018. Received an additional seven-year sentence for the sexual offences and was made to pay €445,000 to the victim's family.^[32]
• Juan Carlos Jiménez Jiménez and his son Emilio Jiménez Jiménez: Convicted on 16 June 2021 for the fatal shooting in 2018 of a man and his two sons, all of whom were related to the son-in-law/brother-in-law of the perpetrators. Juan Carlos, the shooter, received 20 years each for the first two murders in addition to a life sentence for the third; Emilio, who supplied the weapons, received 15 years each for the first two in addition to a life sentence for the third. €961,247 was also ordered in compensation. The crimes, which took place in Cáseda, resulted in the first life sentences in the region of Navarre.^[33]
• Irene Torres Torres and Joey Lee Mederos Martín: Convicted on 4 October 2021 a crime of murder of a five-month-old baby.^[34]
• Bernardo Montoya

Convicted on 10 December 2021 for rape and the murder of Laura Luelmo.^[35]

Sources

• Reform on Penal Code (full text, Spanish).

Notes and References

1. News: El Congreso aprueba la prisión permanente revisable con el único apoyo del Partido Popular. Congress approves permanent revisable prison with support only from the People's Party. 29 December 2020 . . 26 March 2015 . Spanish.
2. News: Una figura instaurada en 1822 y eliminada en 1928 . A statute installed in 1822 and abolished in 1928. 29 December 2020 . . 21 January 2020 . Spanish.
3. News: Texto íntegro de la entrevista a José María Aznar . Transcript of the interview with José María Aznar. 29 December 2020 . . 29 December 2002 . Spanish.
4. News: El Constitucional avala la prisión permanente revisable. Constitutional court upholds permanent reviewable prison. 9 October 2021 . . 6 October 2021 . Spanish.
5. News: Vilas . Alberto . Galicia lidera la lista de condenados a permanente revisable. Galicia leads the list of permanent revisable prison sentences. 29 December 2020 . El Progreso . 18 December 2019 . Spanish.
6. News: David Oubel, primer condenado a prisión permanente revisable. David Oubel, first person sentence to permanent revisable prison. 29 December 2020 . . 6 July 2017 . Spanish.
7. News: Dictan la segunda condena a prisión permanente revisable de España. Second permanent revisable prison sentence enacted in Spain. 29 December 2020 . ABC . 23 March 2018 . Spanish.
8. News: El Supremo revoca la primera prisión permanente que le toca revisar. The Supreme Court quashes the first permanent revisable prison sentence that it had been handed to review. 29 December 2020 . El País . 24 January 2019 . Spanish.
9. News: Condenado a prisión permanente revisable el asesino de la niña Alicia. Murderer of the little girl Alicia sentenced to permanent revisable prison. 29 December 2020 . El Correo de Burgos . 27 September 2018 . Spanish.
10. News: El Supremo confirma la prisión permanente para el hombre que mató a golpes a su hijo en A Coruña. The Supreme Court confirms permanent prison for the man who beat his son to death in A Coruña. 29 December 2020 . El País . 17 January 2019 . Spanish.
11. News: Condenado a prisión permanente revisable Patrick Nogueira, el autor de los crímenes de Pioz. Patrick Nogueira, perpetrator of the crimes in Pioz, sentenced to permanent revisable prison. 29 December 2020 . RTVE . 15 November 2018 . Spanish.
12. News: González . Germán . Primera condena en Cataluña a prisión permanente revisable. First sentencing in Catalonia to permanent revisable prison. 29 December 2020 . . 7 March 2019 . Spanish.
13. News: Blanco . Natalio . Prisión permanente revisable para el asesino y violador de su ex pareja . Permanent revisable prison for the murderer and rapist of his ex-partner. 29 December 2020 . Diario 16 . 3 April 2019 . Spanish.
14. News: Cadena perpetua para el asesino de una mujer en Pilas . Life sentence for the murderer of a woman in Pilas. 29 December 2020 . Diario de Sevilla . 24 April 2019 . Spanish.
15. News: Muñoz-Lacuna . J. V. . Prisión permanente revisable por matar a puñaladas a su pareja discapacitada. Permanent revisable prison for stabbing to death his disabled partner. 29 December 2020 . . 8 May 2019 . Spanish.
16. News: Elude la prisión permanente revisable tras matar a su pareja enferma crónica. Permanent revisable prison avoided after killing his chronically ill partner. 29 December 2020 . Diario Sur . 21 September 2020 . Spanish.
17. News: Gálvez . J. J. . Prisión permanente para el hombre que violó y mató de una "salvaje" paliza a la hija de su pareja. Permanent prison for the man who raped and killed with a "savage" beating his partner's daughter. 29 December 2020 . El País . 5 June 2019 . Spanish.
18. News: Pozas . Alberto . El Supremo confirma la prisión permanente revisable a Ana Julia Quezada por asesinar al niño Gabriel. The Supreme Court confirms permanent revisable prison for Ana Julia Quezada for murdering little Gabriel. 29 December 2020 . . 16 December 2020 . Spanish.
19. News: Echaluce . Alberto . Prisión permanente revisable para el asesino de la eibarresa Rakel López y su hijo Markel. Permanent revisable prison for the murderer of Rakel López from Eibar and her son Markel. 29 December 2020 . . 6 November 2019 . Spanish.
20. News: Prisión permanente revisable para El Chicle por el asesinato de Diana Quer. Permanent revisable prison for El Chicle for the murder of Diana Quer. 29 December 2020 . . 17 December 2019 . Spanish.
21. News: Navarro . Juan . Condenada a prisión permanente revisable la madre que mató a su hija en Bilbao. Mother who killed her daughter in Bilbao sentenced to permanent revisable prison . 29 December 2020 . El País . 27 December 2019 . Spanish.
22. News: Prisión permanente revisable para Gonzalo por asesinar a su tía, Rosa María, en Ofra. Permanent revisable prison for Gonzalo for murdering his aunt, Rosa María, in Ofra. 29 December 2020 . Diario de Avisos . 15 February 2020 . Spanish.
23. News: Prisión permanente revisable para Rubén Mañó por violar y matar a una joven de 15 años en Chella. Permanent revisable prison for Rubén Mañó for raping and killing a 15-year-old girl in Chella. 29 December 2020 . . 12 August 2020 . Spanish.
24. News: Alarcón . M. . Condenan a prisión permanente revisable a los padres acusados de asesinar a su hijo en Elche. Parents accused of murdering their son in Elche sentenced to permanent revisable prison. 29 December 2020 . La Opinión de Murcia . 1 October 2020 . Spanish.
25. News: El TSJCV revoca la prisión permanente revisable para los condenados por matar a un niño de dos años en Elx. The Supreme Court of Justice of the Valencian Community revokes the permanent reviewable prison sentence for the couple sentenced for murdering a two-year-old boy in Elche. 10 October 2021 . . 29 April 2021 . Spanish.
26. News: Prisión permanente revisable para el asesino de la niña Naiara . Permanent revisable prison for the murderer of little Naiara. 29 December 2020 . La Vanguardia . 7 October 2020 . Spanish.
27. News: Marlasca . Manu . Prisión permanente revisable. Permanent revisable prison. 29 December 2020 . . 30 November 2020 . Spanish.
28. News: Ana María Baños, condenada a prisión permanente revisable por asesinar a su hijo. Ana María Baños, sentenced to permanent reviewable prison sentence for murdering her son. 9 April 2021 . . 9 April 2021 . Spanish.
29. News: Ígor el Ruso, condenado a prisión permanente revisable por el asesinato de un ganadero y dos guardias civiles en Teruel . Igor the Russian, sentenced to reviewable permanent prison for the murder of a rancher and two civil guards in Teruel. 29 April 2021 . . 29 April 2021 . Spanish.
30. News: Primera prisión permanente revisable en Asturias para la mujer que asesinó a su bebé en Gijón. First permanent reviewable prison sentence for the woman who murdered her baby in Gijón. 29 May 2021 . . 27 May 2021 . Spanish.
31. News: Condenado a prisión permanente revisable el hombre que asesinó a sus padres y su hermano en Alicante . The man who murdered his parents and his brother in Alicante was sentenced to reviewable permanent prison. 3 June 2021 . El Español . 1 June 2021 . Spanish.
32. News: Prisión permanente revisable para el asesino de la pequeña Laia. Permanent reviewable prison for the murderer of little Laia. 10 October 2021 . ABC . 9 June 2021 . Spanish.
33. News: Sentencia del crimen de Cáseda: primeras penas de prisión permanente revisable en Navarra . Sentencing for the Cáseda crime: first permanent reviewable prison sentences in Navarre. 10 October 2021 . Navarra.com . 16 June 2021 . Spanish.
34. News: Moreno . Rosalina . El TS confirma la prisión permanente revisable para una pareja por el maltrato y asesinato de la bebé de ella. Supreme Court confirms the reviewable permanent prison for a couple for the mistreatment and murder of her baby. 2 January 2022 . Confilegal . 4 October 2021 . Spanish.
35. News: Prisión permanente revisable para Bernardo Montoya por la violación y asesinato de Laura Luelmo. Reviewable permanent prison for Bernardo Montoya for the rape and murder of Laura Luelmo. 10 December 2021 . . 10 December 2021 . Spanish.