http://pt.blastingnews.com/pais/2015/05/inspectora-da-pj-condenada-a-17-anos-de-prisao-depois-de-ter-sido-absolvida-00414103.htmlUpdated: May 27, 2015, 18:54
PJ inspector sentenced to 17 years in prison after being acquittedThe Court of Appeal condemned Ana Saltão to 17 years in prison after she had been acquitted by a jury court. Ana Saltão was acquitted in September 2014
Ana Saltão, the inspector of the Judicial Police (PJ) accused of murdering her husband's grandmother by shooting, was sentenced to 17 years in prison by the Court of Appeal of Coimbra. The penalty comes after the defendant was acquitted by a jury tribunal constituted for this purpose on 8 September 2014. The decision of the Court of Appeal to send Ana Saltão to prison, known today, surprised her defence lawyer, who has already announced that he would appeal to the Supreme Court. The crime dates back to 21 November 2012, when Filomena Gonçalves, 80, was found dead at her home, having been shot 14 times.
I was as astonished as she was said Monica Quintela, the defence lawyer of the Inspector of the judicial police, to take note of the decision of the Court of appeal, despite not having yet, access to its judgment. The lawyer conceded that that court could order a re-trial, but not to apply a prison sentence. Not least because he states he knows well the process and "nothing can allow a conviction," emphasizes the lawyer.
The inspector of the Judicial Police of the Port, about 40, was judged by a jury court as the author of the 14 shots that killed Filomena Gonçalves, grandmother of her husband, also an inspector of the Judiciary. When deciding what led to the acquittal of the accused, the president of the judges' collective view that "is the minimum probability" that have committed crimes that were on the accusation of the prosecution. That is the crime of murder and embezzlement, the latter by the alleged use of a service weapon to commit the crime. The jury understood, too, that all aspects were not clarified and therefore remained unanswered, pointing the finger at some errors in the taking of evidence by the investigators.
It should be noted that following that acquittal, Ana Saltão brought a lawsuit against three participants of the SIC "dearest Julia", by advertising and libel. In particular, the presenter Julia Pinheiro, the commentator Hernâni Carvalho and the former judicial police inspector Carlos Anjos. At issue are statements made by those in a criminal analysis section inserted in that program on the morning about the case involving the Inspector of the Judicial Police.
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So, in Portugal, even if you are acquitted by a jury you can still later be imprisoned without a re-trial?
Something stinks here.
[ translation edited ]