Chilean Senate Passes Controversial Bill That Would Free Hundreds of Pinochet-Era Convicts

Chile's Senate approved 23-22 a bill allowing prisoners aged 75 or older, or those with serious illness, to serve sentences outside prison. Of the approximately 370 people eligible, many are convicted torturers, kidnappers, and murderers held at Punta Peuco prison — a facility built exclusively for human rights criminals. The bill, drafted with language nearly identical to one prepared by a lawyer defending human rights violators, would also apply to up to 12,000 other prisoners. Outgoing Justice Minister Jaime Gajardo wept publicly as the result was announced. Human rights groups and victims' families condemned the measure as a de facto amnesty forbidden under Inter-American Court of Human Rights rulings. Incoming President-elect José Antonio Kast, who took office one week later, framed the bill as humanitarian: 'Nobody deserves to die in prison — this is not a pardon, but alternative fulfillment of sentences.' The bill passed to the Chamber of Deputies for article-by-article debate.