March 18 (UPI) -- El Salvador's Legislative Assembly has approved a constitutional reform that allows life imprisonment for people convicted of homicide, rape and terrorism -- a departure from the previous legal framework that prohibited such penalties.
The Constitution, under Article 27, had barred life sentences and required prison terms to have a fixed duration, while the Penal Code established maximum sentences of up to 50 years for crimes such as aggravated homicide. The same article also prohibits the death penalty in peacetime.
The reform, approved Tuesday and requiring another step before it becomes effective, modifies the second paragraph of Article 27, establishing now that "life imprisonment shall be imposed only on murderers, rapists and terrorists," while maintaining the prohibition of imprisonment for debt and other sanctions considered degrading.
Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro said the reform aims to strengthen public safety.
"The country we aspire to requires that there be no murderers or rapists in our society," he said during the presentation of the initiative.
