Mary Jane Veloso death sentence commuted to life in jail – Marcos
Filipina drug convict and death row prisoner Mary Jane Veloso, clad in traditional Indonesian attire, smiles during a program celebrating Kartini Day in honor of Indonesian national heroine and women’s rights activist Raden Kartini at Yogyakarta prison on April 23, 2016. Veloso was arrested on April 25, 2010, with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin sewn into the lining of her suitcase and was sentenced to death. (Photo by SURYO WIBOWO / Agence France-Presse)
BACOLOR, Pampanga — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. revealed Thursday that the death sentence of drug convict Mary Jane Veloso has been commuted to life imprisonment during the term of Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
During an ambush interview in Nueva Ecija, Marcos disclosed that the effort to have Veloso returned to the Philippines was lengthy.
“Oh, that was a tedious job. That took a long time. Well, since I came into office, what we were trying to…what we were working on…was to remove her from the death row,” he said in mixed Filipino and English when sought for comment on the agreement of Manila and Jakarta to send Veloso home.
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“First of all, to commute her sentence to life. When that happened – when we were able to achieve that – we continued to work with them. It was still with the Widodo government at that time,” he recalled without additional details.
Article continues after this advertisementHence, it was not clear when Veloso’s death sentence was finally commuted to life incarceration.
Article continues after this advertisementAccording to the Legal Information Institute, commuting a sentence means substituting a sentence imposed by the judiciary for a lesser sentence.
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In 2010, Veloso was arrested at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta after she was found in possession of more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin.
Veloso maintained she was unaware of the contents of her luggage as it was only given by her recruiters, identified as Julius Lacanilao and Maria Cristina Sergio.
