Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte pardoned on Monday, Sept. 7 Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, a United States Marine convicted of killing Jennifer Laude, a transgender woman, in 2014, clearing the legal roadblock for his early release.
In a tweet, Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. said Duterte has granted Pemberton “absolute pardon.”
In 2015, Pemberton was convicted of homicide for killing 26-year-old Laude at a motel in the Philippine city of Olongapo, which is located near a former U.S. Naval base north of Manila.
On Monday, August 24, the Philippine Supreme Court said it closed Pemberton’s case after his petition to withdraw an appeal of his conviction was granted.
Just last week, a lower court granted Pemberton’s partial motion of reconsideration after ruling that he had already served his maximum jail sentence of 10 years due to his Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA), a mechanism that shortens the sentence of the accused due to good behavior.
The Laude family challenged this with a motion for reconsideration heard by the court today, arguing that there has been no proof of Pemberton’s “good behavior, conduct and participation in any of the rehabilitation activities.”
With the Presidential pardon, Duterte cleared the roadblock for Pemberton’s early release. Pemberton, who has spent the past six years detained in a special facility, could soon walk free.
This is a developing story.
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