Former Prosecutor Gajardo Warns: Proposed Bill Allows Incarcerated Individuals to Serve Sentences at Home Due to Chronic Illness

Original article: “Están votando una ley de punto final encubierta”: Gajardo alerta que proyecto de la derecha permitiría cumplir penas en casa por enfermedad crónica

«This law is insane,» warned the former prosecutor about the initiative pushed by the right that would benefit those convicted of crimes against humanity, which he deems «abhorrent.»

«They are voting on a concealed end-point law,» cautioned former prosecutor Carlos Gajardo to the lawmakers who generally approved in the Senate a proposal regulating the suspension and alternative compliance of prison sentences.

The initiative, which allows for the release of offenders over 70 years old «for health reasons,» managed to pass by a narrow margin of 23 votes in favor and 22 against, with the vote of Senator Javier Macaya (UDI) tipping the balance decisively, despite the fact that his 73-year-old father, Eduardo Macaya, who was convicted of four sexual abuse offenses against minors, could benefit from the legislative project.

The project, introduced by Senators Francisco Chahuán, Luz Ebensperger, Luciano Cruz-Coke, Alejandro Kusanovic, and Carlos Kuschel, aims to create mechanisms to suspend or replace prison sentences with alternative methods.

In practice, this law would directly benefit inmates from Punta Peuco convicted of crimes against humanity and human rights violations. If it progresses, more than 300 individuals convicted for crimes against humanity, as well as over 300 criminals convicted of homicide, femicide, child and adolescent sexual assault, and parricide, could be eligible for release.

Amid the controversy and rejection from lawmakers and President Gabriel Boric’s government, Gajardo raised several clarifications.

First, the lawyer reminded that inmates with terminal illnesses can already be granted house arrest. «Therefore, the argument about terminal illness is false,» he asserted.

He cited a unanimous ruling from the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court dated February 2025, where the country’s highest court granted protection in a case involving an inmate suffering from a series of illnesses that rendered her unable to care for herself, ordering that the remainder of her sentence be served under total house arrest.

«Here is an example. Be honest in the discussion: they are voting on a concealed end-point law,» he wrote in a message shared on his account on the social network X.

The former prosecutor also pointed out that the bill approved generally does not require a minimum age to access the right to have prison sentences commuted for alternative methods.

«A chronic patient (diabetes, hypertension, asthma, etc.) of any age, for any crime, may serve their sentence at home when they cannot be adequately treated in prison,» he emphasized, labeling this situation as «abhorrent.»

Gajardo accompanied the message with an excerpt from the approved text, which states that benefits could be granted to a «disabled inmate when the deprivation of liberty in the correctional facility is inadequate due to their condition, implying an undignified, inhumane, or cruel treatment;» and also «to an inmate aged 80 years or older as a result of adding their actual age to the years they have effectively been deprived of their freedom in a penal facility, having a minimum age of 70 years.»

Gajardo: «This Law is Insane»

«This law is insane,» was the strong stance of the former prosecutor from the Penta Case as he expressed criticism over the initiative, approved by the right and set to be discussed by the Senate’s Constitution Commission.

The jurist warned that it would benefit a long list of criminals serving sentences in the country’s prisons, «including María del Pilar Pérez (la Quintrala) or recently incarcerated Miguel Ángel Cerda, accused as the mastermind of a hit job.»

The former prosecutor also responded directly to Representative Ximena Ossandón (RN), who stated that the criminals who would benefit from the controversial law would be those suffering from terminal illnesses.

«That’s not true, Congresswoman. The bill also favors those convicted with chronic illnesses that cannot be adequately treated in prison. In practice, hundreds of dangerous criminals would go home,» he indicated during a clash of statements on X.

«The project is insane,» he reaffirmed, as he shared the text «for you to see.»

«Article three: The Tribunal must, at the request of a party or ex officio, order the compliance of the imposed criminal sentence in a total house arrest modality for the remaining time of the sentence.:
    a) To the sick inmate when the deprivation of freedom in the correctional facility for any reason prevents them from recovering or adequately treating their chronic illness:
    b) To an inmate suffering from an incurable disease in the terminal period,» the project indicated.

Bill Poses «Serious Risk to Safety and Crime Commission» in Chile

Subsequently, former prosecutor Carlos Gajardo posted a video confirming that «the bill approved in the Senate regarding the commutation of sentences establishes serious situations and could have a significant impact on the release of those convicted of serious crimes.»

He emphasized that the regulation is not just for terminally ill individuals over 75 or 80 years old, as claimed by the representatives supporting the project, «but applies to those over 70 years old, who are healthy and have been imprisoned for some years until the sum of their age and the number of years they have spent in prison reaches 80 years.»

Additionally, he reiterated that the law facilitates inmates’ ability to commute their sentences to house arrest and referred to specific cases of chronic patients suffering from diabetes, asthma, hypertension who «cannot receive adequate treatment while incarcerated, which, of course, occurs in most cases.»

«I believe that the Senate, the senators who have generally approved this project, have not properly understood the consequences of passing this law. Because, for example, if this were a Republic law, dangerous criminals such as María del Pilar Pérez, the Quintana case, the Alto Hospicio psychopath, or Miguel Krassnoff would regain their freedom tomorrow,» he warned.

According to Gajardo, it is «evident that a bill of this nature cannot prosper as it poses a serious risk to safety and the commission of crimes in our country.»