Death penalty for rapists: Experts question President Dina Baluarte’s proposal

President Dino Baluarte said this Tuesday that Peru should start a debate on the use of the death penalty for juvenile rapists. His proposal was well received Ministers of Economy and Internal Affairs; However, experts felt that this was just a distraction to the public.

Lawyer Heber Kampos emphasized that this initiative is not constitutional and considered it rather a smokescreen to distract the media from the claims against the president.

“From a legal point of view, before reforming the Constitution, because the rule governing the application of the death penalty is provided in the Constitution, Article 140, for two cases: treason and terrorist crimes. The treaty of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights and it is not an easy path,” he said in “La Rotativa del Aire Noche” from RPP.

For his part, the former minister Delia Munoz He believed that such proposals always have an impact on the population, especially in times of serious crisis.

“It’s a good strategy to change the axis of the political debate and focus it on an issue where a section of people who are against it are asking to change the death penalty. I disagree with this on the issue of humanistic development,” he commented in Trial by Fire.

Chairman of the Judiciary, Javier Arevalaalready spoke out last week against the use of the death penalty in Peru. In his opinion, this type of sentence has already been overcome in the country.

“I strongly reject the death penalty, I do not believe in the death penalty; I believe that this is something that we have already overcome and that cannot be repeated in Peru,” he said at a press conference.

Ministers support this verdict

The Minister of the Interior, Juan José Santivanes, supported the initiative of Dina Baluarte. In his opinion, murderers should also be included among the crimes covered by this sentence.

“I definitely support this proposal, there should be work between all the entities responsible for justice, but even from the Ministry of the Interior we would collect an additional proposal that should include the killers,” he said from Tumbes.

Another who joined the support is the Minister of Economy, José Arista, who stressed that the insecurity of citizens costs up to 2 UIT to the country’s GDP, which is why next year’s budget allocates 3,820 million S/S to reduce crime.

“It’s time to take firm decisions and start a debate about the death penalty for rapists of minors. The insecurity of citizens costs us 2 points of GDP per year. That is why we have allocated 3,820 million S/S in the 2025 budget for actions aimed at reducing crime,” he said in a post on the X social network.

Death penalty in the country?

President Dina Boluarte’s statement came after her Justice Minister Eduardo Arana said he was ready to study a proposal to introduce the death penalty in Peru for serious crimes such as sexual violence against minors or the crimes of hired killers.

The Minister referred to this issue while answering a question from Congressman Jorge Montoya from the Bench of Honor and Democracy during the questioning he was subjected to in Congress.

The death of a 12-year-old girl in Villa Maria del Triunfo by the subject was an example that the president set to renew the debate about this punishment.

The father of the deceased minor spoke in favor of the president’s proposal. “Okay, let them do it. These people have no heart, what they did to my daughter, this man deserves the death penalty or I don’t know, life in prison. “I agree with what the head of state said,” he said.

In addition, he demanded from the authorities justice and appropriate investigations to determine the guilt of the alleged criminal, who was named Yerson Alexander Juarez Tapia. “Let justice be done and the truth be revealed,” he said.