PHILIPPINES: CHILD RAPIST ECHEGARAY EXECUTION (3)

(5 Feb 1999) Eng/Taga/Nat

Time is running out for convicted child rapist Leo Echegaray, scheduled for execution in the Philippines later on Friday.

Echegaray is slated to become the first person executed in the Philippines for 23 years, following the restoration of the death penalty.

Only President Joseph Estrada now has the power to save Echegaray from execution.

But so far the president has refused to hear any appeal on Echegaray's behalf.

A look of resignation clouded Leo Echegaray's face as he was escorted out of the prison building at dawn on Friday.

He bowed his head in front of the crush of photographers and clutched a Bible as prison guards led him to the execution chamber.

The 38-year-old house painter faces the death penalty for repeatedly raping his 10 year-old step daughter in 1994.

Echegaray has always maintained his innocence and says he is dying for a crime that he did not commit.

Echegaray is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 3 p-m local time (0700gmt) on Friday - the first execution to take place in the Philippines in 23 years.

In a message he taped for his wife on February 2, Echegaray spoke of his pending execution as an end to his troubles.

SOUNDBITE: (Tagalog)
"Hopefully our problems will be over...this February 5, we will be in a dark place, but February 6 hopefully our lives will get better. Maybe that will be the start of a better life for us."
SUPER CAPTION: Leo Echegaray's taped message to his wife

Echegaray met Zenaida after his conviction and married her inside the prison last December.

She has proved one of his most stalwart defenders, tirelessly lobbying for clemency for her husband.

SOUNDBITE: (Tagalog))
"Life here on death row was difficult, but it became colorful when you came. You gave me the light through the dark road I was taking."
SUPER CAPTION: Leo Echegaray's taped message to his wife

Awaiting her husband's execution, Zenaida had bitter words for President Joseph Estrada, who has refused appeals to grant a stay in execution.

SOUNDBITE: (Tagalog)
"In my condition, I cannot accept it. It will be extremely painful for me if Leo dies. So if it happens, don't worry Mr. President, two lives will be lost."
SUPER CAPTION: Zenaida Echegaray, wife of Leo Echegaray

Yesterday, Estrada ordered prison officials to cut a hotline linking the palace and the death chamber.

The line was installed to enable the president to halt the execution if he decided on a last-minute reprieve.

The execution has sharply divided this mostly Roman Catholic nation.

Estrada has been at the forefront of the push to bring back execution since its 1987 abolition, saying a deterrent was needed to quell the rise in violent crime.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Today's execution is proof of the government's determination to maintain law and order. Let Mr Echegaray's death serve as a strong warning against the criminal elements. In my administration we will prove that crime doesn't pay. I would like to stress is not poverty related but an act of bestiality which deserves the steepest penalty under the law."
SUPER CAPTION: Joseph Estrada, Philippines President

Estrada's views were echoed by pro-death penalty advocates who held a vigil Thursday night within the prison compound.

They held up placards depicting the faces of crime victims and calling for justice to be done.

Inside the prison chapel, anti-death penalty groups prayed as their hopes of clemency faded.

But even if they fail to halt Echegaray's execution, the campaigners say they will continue their efforts to abolish the capital punishment.






Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


#Leo #Echegaray
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...