Discrimination in justice

[NewsWhore]

The Dominican Attorney General Dr. Radhames Jimenez has highlighted something that most Dominicans are already aware of. Jimenez was quoted in Hoy newspaper saying that there is a discriminatory judicial system that favors rich Dominicans over poorer ones. The AG also said that the implementation of the Penal Code has been encouraging, but added that he agrees with the findings of a recent report on the subject. Jimenez also mentioned that because of these social discrepancies, people who cannot afford legal counsel would receive the service free of charge as from next year. Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez seconded the AG's comments by saying that when a verdict is about to be announced, in many cases social class is a key consideration in the punishment. He conceded, however, that the Supreme Court has made an effort to combat this. The study that Jimenez and the Cardinal are quoting is the Quality and Access to Penal Justice in the Dominican Republic, which was conducted by Isis Duarte and Joel Arboleda with the help of the Foundation for Institutionalism and Justice (FINJUS) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

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