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children, as they become older, may understand the mistake he made when
he abandoned them.
He regrets having been convicted to death without having been informed of it
at the time of the debate and without having had the opportunity to defend
himself, which he considers were mistakes of the authorities.
The imposition of the death penalty is useless, since “it will never change the
world.” Those sentenced to death carry a very heavy load and suffer an
illness, since they always think about the sentence and in what their families
and children will think.
He trusts the people that are fighting for his “forgiveness” and has hopes
because his case is “blooming”.
b)
Expert report of Mr. Alejandro E. Álvarez, specialist in Criminal Law
The expert witness referred to the way in which the crimes of aggravated
rape and murder are regulated in Guatemala, the difference in the sentences
contemplated for them, the aggravating circumstances that permit the
application of the death penalty, and their relationship with the exercise of
the right to a defense and the right to a fair trial in the criminal process,
especially in the processes for crimes for which the death penalty may be
imposed. He also referred to the supposition of social dangerousness, which
in his opinion contains elements contrary to the fundamental principles of
human rights. Likewise, he made an analysis of the specific case of Mr.
Fermín Ramírez, in which he pointed out the irregularities in which, in his
opinion, the legal authorities had incurred.
c)
Expert report of Mr. César Barrientos Pellecer, specialist in Criminal
Procedural Law
The expert witness referred to the forms of the Guatemalan criminal
procedures, specifically to those regarding the modification of the attributable
acts and their legal classification.
He mentioned that the Code of Criminal Procedures of Guatemala did not
establish a real system for the presentation of charges due, inter alia, to the
real misunderstanding about it, the fears due to the lack of participation of
the judge in the investigation, the doubts over the performance of the Office
of the Public Prosecutor, and the national legal tradition based on the
interference of the judge in the investigation.
The expert witness made an analysis of Mr. Fermín Ramírez’s specific case,
where he pointed out the irregularities in which, in his opinion, the legal
authorities had incurred.
d)
Expert report of Mr. Rodolfo Kepfer Rodríguez, Pschyiatrist
The expert, based on the interviews he had with Mr. Fermín Ramírez, Mrs.
Ana Lucrecia Sis and Fernando, Marvin, and Eliseo Adonai Ramírez Sis,
referred to the psychiatric damage and suffering experimented by Mr. Fermín
Ramírez and his next of kin as a consequence of him being on death row.
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