Sexy, Innocent Child-Woman

More thoughts about my sisters on death row--Part 2

Warning: This is another long entry. I get really passionate whenever I write about issues concerning women on death row in the Philippines or the death penalty.

Hey everyone, check this out. Rina Jimenez-David wrote another column about women on death row in the Philippines. It was published in today's issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

I must say, it's quite moving to read about my sisters on death row--especially since the points made by the researchers quoted by Mrs. Jimenez-David resonate with everything I've observed and learned during all my visits to Correctional Institution for Women (CIW).

Indeed, when people think about the death penalty, they tend to focus on the men, not the women. Women on death row tend to be invisible within the criminal justice system. Their unique concerns and needs remain unheard. These include: 1) caregiving for their children; and 2) counseling and redress for experiences of abuse and violence.

I know from experience and research that most women prisoners were the primary caregivers of their children (or even nieces and nephews) prior to their incarceration--so their incarceration affects their children the most. A significant number of incarcerated mothers, such as my friends in CIW, continue to look out for their children, even if they're behind bars. I know several women on death row who take on different jobs in the prison compound (e.g. making rosaries, selling food and/or phone cards, working as the "orderly" of an inmate with more money) just to earn some money, which they could send to their children.

Based on my interactions with currently and formerly incarcerated women and my research, I also know that the majority of women offenders have experienced physical, sexual, verbal, and/or emotional abuse, be it during their childhood or their adulthood. This is related to their involvement in illegal activity or even their implication in offenses committed by their husbands or partners (e.g. drug-related cases). The stories of Ate L, Ate E (a battered wife who was incarcerated for shooting her husband), Ate M (who took the blame for her husband's drug case...although her husband ended up leaving her!), Ate S (who was implicated in the murder case of her partner, even if he insisted she was innocent and he alone was to blame for killing a man because they were fighting over another woman), "Catherine" or Mama C, and many other incarcerated women, can only attest to that. Indeed, the criminal justice system discriminates against them on account of their gender. After looking at the bigger picture, I cannot fathom how the Philippines could justify the imposition of the death penalty, against these women in particular.

President GMA announced the commutation of all death sentences to life imprisonment on Easter Sunday. But guess what? By law, the blanket commutation of death sentences applies only to those whose sentences were affirmed by the Supreme Court (Mautak rin itong si GMA [GMA sure is a crafty woman]). Before I left the Philippines, there were 33 women on death row, nine of whom had convictions that had been "affirmed," either by the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals. Only five inmates benefited from the blanket commutation of death sentences. The rest of the women continue to live under the specter of death (It's so heartbreaking because in her letter attached to the birthday card that she and the other inmates sent me, Ate S assumed the "wholesale commutation" of death sentences applied to her and everyone else on death row. She'll be disappointed when she finds out otherwise). For the death penalty still exists, by law. As such, people need to continue lobbying for the repeal of the death penalty.


Addendum:

On a more positive note, I just came across an article in the Inquirer announcing that more than 1,500 cases against minors in the Philippines would be dismissed by the new Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006. Praise God! It's about time we had a juvenile justice bill in place. The article mentioned that the law has a retroactive provision, which means that adult inmates who were minors at the time their offenses were committed could benefit from it. I hope to God that my friend D benefits from the new law. She was arrested at the age of 17 and tried as an adult for her involvement in the kidnapping of an elderly woman who was later released unharmed. To this day, I still cannot fathom how the judge who sentenced her to death refused to lower the sentence, despite the evidence regarding her age. Amnesty International even lobbied on her behalf but she remains in CIW, where she has been detained for the past eight years. She is far from a violent offender or a hardened criminal. In fact, she's one of the more quiet and easygoing inmates on death row. I just hope her wish--that she be given the chance to start anew--would be granted.


I miss my sisters in prison even more. Syeet. Hay...I know I'll see them in a month. I'm getting restless, though. I just want to be with them in times like these, when significant discussions about their welfare are going on. Ganito lang talaga ako (This is just the way I am). I guess I just love them so much. I'll just write them to pass time.

By the way, if anyone is interested in becoming "pen-friends" with my friends in CIW, let me know. My sisters on death row always look forward to receiving letters. So I just thought I'd ask around. For details, you can e-mail me at silver[underscore]scrawl[AT]yahoo[dot]com.

found herself @ 9:19 AM