Laude Case: The CA affirmed the guilty verdict versus Pemberton.
LAUDE CASE- The Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the lower court’s verdict which declared US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton guilty of homicide for the death of transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude.
Based on a recent news report in Rappler, the CA has junked the claim of the US marine that the killing of Laude inside the Celzone Lodge in Olongapo City on October 11, 2014 was result of self-defense.
The CA’s Special Sixteenth Division put down the claim of Pemberton in a 48-page decision which was written by Associate Justice Marlenez Gonzalez-Sison. The verdict was released on the 10th day of April.
According to the news report, it was in October 2014 when Pemberton and Laude met in a bar after the US marine was one of those who are part of the joint military exercise among the Filipino and American troops.
After their meeting, the two agreed agreed to have s3x as heard during a Court trial based on the report. However, the US marine who was drunk during that time turned abusive after he knew that Laude still had the male reproductive organ.
The court expressed that the US marine acted out of “passion and obfuscation”.
“In the heat of passion, he arm-locked the deceased, and dunked his (her) head in the toilet,” it added.
Based on the news report, Pemberton was sentenced to a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment after the Regional Trial Court of Olongapo City found the US marine “guilty beyond reasonable doubt” in the month of December year 2015.
Pemberton appealed the court ruling after a month. He pointed out his act of voluntary surrender and reasoned out that it was done out of self-defense.
However, according to the CA, Laude was not left “merely unconscious” by the US marine “as proven by the prosecution”. It stated that the prosecution has proved that Pemberton ensured the death of Laude through “submerging his death inside the toilet bowl.”
“Self-defense, like alibi, is a defense which can easily be concocted as it is in this case,” the Court said.
Furthermore, the appeal of the US marine that his voluntary surrender can reduce his guilt was not given weight by the Court.
Based on the report, Pemberton is still detained in Camp Aguinaldo, the Philippine Military’s general headquarters. He stays in an air-conditioned van owned by the United States.
