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Palace on Pemberton not facing court martial: It’s US govt's decision
By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA NewsMalacañang on Thursday took note of the US Marine Corps’ pronouncement that Joseph Scott Pemberton, who was convicted for killing Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude in 2014, will be discharged from the US military.
A report by online news service BenarNews on Wednesday said that Pemberton will be processed for administrative discharge, citing a statement from Major Melanie Salinas of the US Marine Corps' Communication Directorate, which ruled out the possibility of court martial proceedings.
“That’s a decision of the US government although I take note that they have said he will be processed for administrative discharge, meaning he will be fired as a Marine,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said at a news conference.
GMA News Online also inquired with the US Marine Corps about the development but has yet to get a response as of posting time.
Roque, a former lawyer of the Laude family, earlier revealed that the US authorities had promised that Pemberton would face court martial proceedings
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Pemberton was deported on Sunday after he was pardoned by President Rodrigo Duterte five years into his service of a six- to 10-year prison sentence for homicide.
The absolute pardon extinguished Pemberton's criminal liability, and rendered moot the legal debate on whether or not he was entitled to early release for "good conduct."
Days before the pardon, a court in Olongapo City ordered his release, saying he was considered to have served one month over his maximum penalty of 10 years because of good conduct time allowances (GCTA) on top of his actual time served.
Laude was found dead in the bathroom of the Celzone Lodge room in Olongapo on October 11, 2014.
Pemberton was convicted in 2015. His conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals in 2017. -MDM, GMA News