This Wednesday it was learned that the young hitman who shot Miguel Uribe Turbay almost three months ago in western Bogotá was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, which he must serve in a specialized center aimed at his resocialization because he is 15 years old.
The news has sparked initial reactions. Miguel Uribe's lawyer, Víctor Mosquera, questioned the law under which children and/or adolescents who commit crimes are prosecuted in Colombia.
"Under the Law on Children and Adolescents, one of the highest penalties was imposed on the minor who murdered Miguel Uribe Turbay: 84 months. We respect the decision, but this penalty never commensurate with the life he took or the pain he caused. This law encourages crime to use minors without real and effective punishment," he said.
For his part, the representative of the Democratic Center, Óscar Villamizar, stated:"It is urgent that our project become law, where the murderer is judged as a murderer regardless of age. No more hitmen murderers free in 7 years or less," he said.
The prosecution was for attempted murder and illegal possession of weapons, which he ultimately accepted before a court, resulting in seven years of the maximum eight-year sentence allowed by law.
The minor was one of the first to negotiate with the Prosecutor's Office, providing key information to investigators, data that led to the identification of other alleged perpetrators of the assassination.
During the attack, he told authorities he hadn't been informed who the victim was and that he was offered 20 million pesos—which he never received—to kill her. The person who apparently gave him directions to the location was"El Costeño."
"After assessing the evidence provided by the Prosecutor's Office and the voluntary acceptance of charges during the arraignment hearing, a judge from the Juvenile Criminal Responsibility System sentenced the minor who shot Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay," the prosecuting body officially announced.
After the attack, Uribe was rushed to the Santa Fe Foundation, where he remained in critical condition for several weeks. Although he initially showed slight improvement, his neurological prognosis remained reserved. Finally, on August 11 of this year, the political leader died from the serious injuries sustained by the bullet.
The young man's defense team, which requested that he not be deprived of his liberty, appealed. Consequently, the case will now be reviewed by a special chamber of the Bogotá Superior Court.
