GUATEMALA. BOTH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES PLEDGE TO REVIVE DEATH PENALTY

October 1, 2007: the two presidential candidates in Guatemala’s November 4 runoff election have both stated that they will remove the current de facto moratorium on capital punishment.
Under the government of Alfonso Portillo (2000-2004), Congress revoked 1892 legislation known as the "pardon law", under which the president can either pardon a death row convict or allow the execution to go ahead. Since then, Guatemala has no procedure for death row inmates to seek a pardon or the commuting of their sentence. This means a de facto moratorium on executions has been in place since 2000, even though capital punishment is still on the books.
If elected, both candidates will ask Congress to pass a draft law that will allow executions.
In an open letter to Guatemalan legislators in May, the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) expressed its concern over several aspects of the draft law, including the fact that if the president fails to make a pronouncement in 30 days, the sentence automatically proceeds to execution. (Sources: IPS, 01/10/2007)