Soldiers sentenced to more than 6,000 years in Guatemala massacre

MSNBC ^ | August 3, 2011 | MSNBC.com News Services

[Immerito]

GUATEMALA CITY — A Guatemalan court has sentenced four former soldiers to more than 6,000 years in prison each for the 1982 massacre of 201 men, women and children during the Central American country's civil war.

Three former special forces soldiers received 6,060 years in prison each on Tuesday. The court also sentenced a former army second lieutenant to 6,066 years in prison for the same massacre in the village of Dos Erres in Guatemala's northern Peten region.

The length of the sentences is largely symbolic since under Guatemalan law the maximum time a convict can serve is 50 years.

[ansel12]

I don’t know a lot about Guatemalan politics, but I doubt that they will serve even half of that.

[tsowellfan]

If they do, I want whatever it is in the drinking water.

[ansel12]

With good behavior their sentences could be reduced by a 1000 years if they get a liberal DA.

[LearsFool]

The length of the sentences is largely symbolic

Yeah, it symbolizes that the nation of Guatemala has no stomach to deal justly with the crime of murder.

It's like a parent sentencing his child to 6000 hours of time-outs because he's too much of a coward to give his child the much-needed spanking.