After months of deliberation, the Philippine prosecution system recommended that United States Marine serviceman Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton will be charged with murder. The murder charges is in line the shocking death of a Filipino transgender named Jennifer Laude.
Pfc. Pemberton, 19, will be facing a possible 40 years of prison time if found guilty of the accused crime. Private Pemberton was apprehended last October while in the Philippines for a military exercise.
It was reported that Pemberton and Laude met in a club in Olongapo City. Pemberton then accompanied Laude to a nearby hotel. This accusation is supported by video recordings of a closed-circuit-television footage presented on court. Laude was later found lifeless with her face down the toilet with her neck badly out of proportion.
Prosecutors have release a statement that explained why they imposed the much heavier murder case instead of the lesser homicide accusation. The main reason why the prosecutors imposed the murder charge was based on aggravating circumstances including the violent and almost inhumane death of Laude.
There is however a dilemma as to who has the power to detain Private Pemberton. Laude's attorney insisted that Pemberton should be incarcerated in a regular cell. However, the current visiting forces agreement between the Philippines and the United States allows U.S. to have complete control over detention agreement.
Although the United States basement treaty was terminated in 1992, U.S. forces still continues to stage its joint exercises and war games within the Philippine archipelago. This new agreement however, is another part of United States undeclared interest in South-East Asian Nations. The new arrangement came in as a part of United States effort to garner sympathy from South East Asian nations.
In 2005, U.S. Marine Corporal Daniel Smith was tried with rape accusations from a Filipino woman. It was reported that Smith raped her inside a van near Subic Bay. Daniel Smith was sentenced to life in prison but was transferred to the U.S. Embassy in Manila where he remained detained until 2009.
