Philippine Court Orders Early Release of U.S. Marine Convicted of Killing a Trans Woman

A Philippine court has ordered the early release of Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, a U.S. Marine convicted of killing Jennifer Laude, a transgender woman, in 2014.

A lower court on Tuesday, September 1, granted Pemberton’s partial motion of reconsideration after ruling that he had already served his maximum jail sentence of 10 years due to his Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA), a mechanism that shortens the sentence of the accused due to good behavior, according to CNN Philippines.

Pemberton was convicted of homicide in 2015 for killing 26-year-old Laude at a motel in the Philippine city of Olongapo, which is located near a former U.S. Navy base. He was 19 at the time of the crime.

Pemberton was initially sentenced to six to 12 years in prison, but in 2016 his sentence was reduced to a maximum of 10 years in jail. He was also required to compensate Laude’s heirs.

Last week, the Philippine Supreme Court declared Pemberton’s case “closed and terminated” after it granted his urgent motion to withdraw an appeal of his conviction.

“After thoughtful consideration of the circumstances of this case, [Pemberton] has decided to withdraw his petition, both as to criminal and civil aspects of the appeal, and accepts and recognizes that his conviction will become final and executory,” the court wrote last week.

On Wednesday, August 27, Pemberton, through his lawyer, paid 4.6 million Philippine pesos ($ 95,000) in damages to the Laude family.

The Laude family has appealed the court decision’s to order Pemberton’s early release, arguing that there has been no proof of Pemberton’s “good behavior, conduct and participation in any of the rehabilitation activities.”

They also pointed out Pemberton’s “privilege” because he has not served his sentence in the National Bilibid Prison, a crowded Philippine national prison, and added that Pemberton has been able to serve out his solo detention “comfortably” at a special facility built at a military camp in Metro Manila.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who had served as a private prosecutor for the Laude family, blasted the court for the short prison time handed out on Pemberton.

“Laude's death personifies the death of Philippine sovereignty and the light penalty imposed on Pemberton proves that despite the President's independent foreign policy, that Americans continue to have the status of conquering colonials in our country,” he said in a statement.

Lagalab Network, an umbrella organization for LGBTQ rights groups in the Philippines, called Pemberton’s early release an “injustice.”

“The early release of Pemberton is another injustice to the memory of Jennifer, her family, and the country,” the group said in a statement. “Jennifer’s life is not worth six years of solo and comfortable stay in Camp Aguinaldo.

Laude’s death inflamed already simmering tensions and sparked calls to nip the decades-old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the U.S. and the Philippines, which allows U.S. troops to operate in the region.