Bizarre, Criminal law, International

Guatemalan Soldier Given Eternal Life

Ok, maybe not eternal. A Guatemalan court sentenced former special forces soldier Pedro Pimentel, 55, to 6,060 years in prison for his role in a 1982 massacre of 201 people. The Las Dos Erres massacre was carried out by a group of some 20 soldiers in December 1982.

Pimental was deported from the United States.

Civilians were blindfolded, strangled and bludgeoned villagers “and a newborn child to death with a sledgehammer.”

With that record, I wish Pimentel a long life. I recall a story of a judge who handed down a long sentence to a man who was already fairly old. The man complained “Judge, I can’t do that amount of time at my age.” The judge responded, “I understand. Just do as much as you can.”

Source: Yahoo

9 thoughts on “Guatemalan Soldier Given Eternal Life”

  1. If only we treated ALL war criminals equally life would be good. George Bush, Dick Cheney, and all of the Pentagon elite responsible for the atrocities at Abu Gharib would be a good start. Then we could move on to our dear sitting President Obama whose promise to dismantle Gitmo was nothing but a bunch of politically motivated hot air. Under his command we are still holding an unknown number of prisoners-some of them for over a DECADE- who have never been charged with a single crime.Is it tragic or ironic that a man who was handed the Nobel Peace Prize 3 years ago is now committing the same criminal acts as his predecessors and still getting away with it? Both, I guess.

  4. “…Given Eternal Life .”

    *********************
    It’s an interesting question about whether being given “eternal life” is prize or punishment. Outliving all family and friends, unending shifting frames of reference every few decades, watching the same people make the same mistakes over and over again.

    I’d vote the latter.

  5. “With that record, I wish Pimentel a long life.”

    Seconded without reservation.

    “I recall a story of a judge who handed down a long sentence to a man who was already fairly old. The man complained ‘Judge, I can’t do that amount of time at my age.’ The judge responded, ‘I understand. Just do as much as you can.'”

    A classic. Comedy is the truth, only faster.

  6. It is also time to arrest and try the US personnel who knew about this, encouraged it, and lied about it. In short, it is time to go after the CIA criminals and cut off their retirement pay and perks.

  7. When you are the one in power and wage war…. You have no consequences until someone needs to fry…..apparently this was his day….

  8. So we can add Guatemala to the list of nations that demands better out of their military personnel than the US does. When will the trials be for The people responsible for Abu Gharib or various of the massacres committed in Iraq and Afghanistan – hell how about the one a Mai Lai?

  9. “I recall a story of a judge who handed down a long sentence to a man who was already fairly old. The man complained “Judge, I can’t do that amount of time at my age.” The judge responded, “I understand. Just do as much as you can.”

    LOL!

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