On Friday, December 30, 2022, the Government of President Gabriel Boric announced one of the decisions that has caused the most controversy since his arrival at La Moneda: the pardon of 12 people convicted of crimes committed in the framework of the social outbreak and the ex-frontist Jorge Mateluna, who had been in prison since 2013 for a robbery at a bank branch.
After the event, which was described by the President as a “difficult decision”, the opposition, both the National Renovation (RN) and the UDI, began to “activate” a constitutional accusation against the Minister of Justice, Marcela Ríos, for having signed the decrees that enabled the pardons of the 13 people. In the last hours, it was announced what were the grounds that the Government gave to grant said benefit.
The Government based its decision on “the events that occurred during the so-called ‘Social Outbreak’, which led to a political and institutional crisis, in which acts of violence and human rights violations occurred, for which action must be taken extraordinary measures that allow the restoration of social peace”.
To this, it is added that “the level of conflict in the country that configured an exceptional context, framed in massive public demonstrations. In this context and with the objective of promoting social cohesion, national reunion and looking to the future with greater dignity and peace.”
At the time of scrutinizing in particular the foundations of the pardons, in the case of Luis Castillo, the decree that enabled his release pondered “the request for private pardon dated April 1, 2022” and that he was “serving sentence as author of six crimes of public disorder of article 6 letter a) of Law No. 12,927 on State Security, three crimes of simple damage, four crimes of robbery in an uninhabited place and one crime of qualified damage, in the La Penitentiary Complex Serena”.
It is also added that “the file sent to this Secretary of State, through Official Letter (R) No. 232, of June 15, 2022, from the National Gendarmerie Directorate of Chile, which contains the following information: a) Social Report, of April 11, 2022, which indicates that the applicant has the support of his parents, who have been an affective, emotional and moral reference during his imprisonment, and are willing to provide a physical space to the applicant in the event of a possible exit to the half free”.
Likewise, it is noted that there is an educational report, “which indicates that the applicant, during the year 2022, expresses interest in regularizing his educational situation, approving his incorporation into the study leveling process. He is participating in the first group that renders evaluations, receiving study material for exam preparation”. His decree was signed the same day that the Government announced the pardons.
In the case of another of those pardoned who had a criminal record, Juan Olguín, the decree informs that the request for the benefit to access his freedom was made on “June 24, 2022”, and that he was “serving a sentence as author of the crimes of fire and reception, in the Molina Penitentiary Compliance Center”.
In addition, it was informed of the “file sent to this Secretary of State, by Official Letter (R) No. 361, of August 30, 2022, of the National Gendarmerie Directorate of Chile, which contains the following information: a) Social report of July 2022, which indicates that the applicant has an adequate family support network, made up of his partner and his parents, who have been present throughout his judicial process and are capable of welcoming him and guiding him to reorganize his life, once it is in the free environment”.
As in the case of Castillo, an “educational report, dated July 26, 2022, was attached, which indicates that the applicant has a medium-technical professional teaching license obtained at the educational establishment ‘Escuela de Administración y Comercio A & C'”. And a “labour report, dated July 26, 2022, which indicates that the applicant has technical-agricultural and SAG counterpart technical knowledge, which has allowed him to work in production and quality control of fruits in different packing houses of the Maule region. For this reason, he has the knowledge and experience to develop in the free environment. To date, he is on the waiting list to carry out intra-penitentiary labor activity in wood.” His decree was signed on December 29, one day after the government’s announcement.
Decree of ex-frontist Jorge Mateluna
In the case of the former frontista Jorge Mateluna, the pardon decree maintains that his request to access the benefit was made on September 2, 2022. This, while he was serving a sentence “as the author of a crime of robbery with intimidation and a crime of possession of weapons for war use, at the Colina I Penitentiary Compliance Center”.
Within the grounds of the pardon, is the “act of the Court of Conduct of the Colina I Penitentiary Compliance Center, dated September 5, 2022, which suggests granting the benefit to the convicted Mateluna Rojas, considering that the inmate maintains all his reports positive psychosocial, having no drawbacks that limit their ability to reintegrate into society.
In addition to the above, mention is made of a “social report, of September 5, 2022, which indicates that the applicant Mateluna Rojas presents a low level of risk of criminal recidivism. Likewise, he has a stable support network that constitutes a benchmark for socio-emotional support, in addition to having personal and economic resources in the event of a possible release”.
Another of the documents that are taken into consideration is a “psychological report, of September 5, 2022, which indicates that viable vital projections are observed in the applicant, aimed at resuming the resocialization process that began before entering to fulfill the current sentence In addition, he has avoided contagion criminalized in prison, operationally understands the punitive context in which he finds himself and has shown a favorable attitude towards intervention and supervision in a control context, which is evidenced in 28 bimonthly behavior very good intra-penitentiary, which presents both intellectually and affectively an intrinsic motivation, with internal and genuine references for change (wife and children) predisposing the subject to give a higher value to the family and society, concluding that it has cognitive and sufficient behavioral factors to understand that normative adjustment is the only means for proper functioning. effective in the free environment and that the prognosis for current social reintegration is seen to be favourable”.
An “occupations report” of September 5, 2022 is also cited, which recognizes a stable employment record prior to the inmate’s confinement, in the area of cultural management and that its projections are related to actions carried out prior to his current sentence, resuming such work, configuring such habituation a protective factor against participation in criminal activities or tending to this.In addition, that in his current confinement a process of redefinition of occupations is observed, valuing its execution and the participation of third parties, managing to teach and interact with people who want to learn, showing a good relationship with their peers in pro-social actions to explore occupations”.
In a conduct check dated September 6, 2022, Mateluna “records Very Good conduct, uninterruptedly, between the two-month period May-June 2015 and July-August 2022.”
For all the background information set forth above, it was decreed:
“Commute by conditional remission of the sentence (article 3 of Law No. 18,216), exclusively, the balance of the custodial sentences of eleven years of major imprisonment in its medium degree and five years and one day of major imprisonment in its minimum degree, to which Jorge Mauricio Mateluna Rojas is sentenced, in accordance with the judgment dated October 31, 2014, issued by the First Criminal Oral Trial Court of Santiago, judgment issued in appeal for annulment and sentence of replacement, both dated January 30, 2015, issued by the Court of Appeals of Santiago”.
