Plea bargain or not, jail time for Pemberton sought

MEMBERS of a gay group unfurl a banner demanding justice for Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude on a footbridge near the US Embassy in December last year. RICHARD A. REYES

OLONGAPO CITY—The family of slain transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude said it wanted to see US Marine Pfc Joseph Scott Pemberton behind bars, a possibility outlined in a recent plea-bargain discussion that could allow the 19-year-old American to plead guilty to homicide, instead of murder.

“All I want is to see Pemberton in jail and that is already justice for us,” said Laude’s mother, Julita.

The Laude family attended the plea-bargaining session on Thursday with Pemberton’s lawyers.

“Plea bargaining is a regular procedure. It means that the accused (Pemberton) will be willing to plead guilty to a lower offense, which is homicide. [If that will happen] he will be immediately convicted,” said Virgie Suarez, one of the Laude family lawyers.

But she denied reports that the Laude family had demanded P21 million as restitution. Pemberton has not yet made any offers to reduce the murder charge and the Laude family has not decided on whether to accept any plea bargain, Suarez said.

But a homicide conviction would lead to a 15 to 20 year imprisonment, she said.

Should Pemberton plead guilty to homicide, “it will mean automatic imprisonment and doing away with the trial,” she said.

Under the Visiting Forces Agreement, the government has a year to seek a conviction of Pemberton for the crime.

During the continuation of the case’s pretrial on March 10, lawyer Harry Roque, the Laude family lead counsel, said both prosecution and defense would need to go through a plea-bargain session before the trial proceeds.

“The position of the Laude family has not changed. We want justice not only for Jennifer but for the entire Filipino nation,” Roque said.

He said the Laude family “will not allow any situation in which Pemberton will go to jail for a crime other than for the killing of a human being.”

When asked if the Laude family has rejected any plea offer from the Pemberton camp, Suarez said, “What’s certain at this point is that we will see to it that we will get justice for Jennifer and that means the imprisonment of Pemberton.”

“We will not allow foreigners who committed crimes in our country to go unpunished,” she said.

Laude was found dead in a motel bathroom here on the night of Oct. 11, about an hour after she and a Caucasian man checked into the motel. Witnesses had identified Pemberton as Laude’s companion.

Suarez said the Laude murder trial would start on March 23, as ordered by Judge Roline Ginez-Jabalde of the Olongapo Regional Trial Branch 74.