Daniel Sancho will hear today in a translation what everyone has known for three weeks: that he will be tried in Samui on the charges of premeditated murder of Edwin Arrieta, concealment of the corpse and destruction of evidence. A lethal combination, at first glance. But in Thailand even on death row there is light at the end of the tunnel. If before the pandemic there were 650 children in this situation, today there are far fewer and none of them are Spanish.
In any case, commutation of the death penalty is the rule and has had only one exception in the last 14 years. It was an execution by lethal injection, in 2018, with which the military junta – now in the background – broke an undeclared nine-year moratorium. Until 2003, the procedure that had been used had been the execution squad.
But it is one thing to evade the application of the capital punishment and another to get rid of the said verdict. The fate of Sancho Gracia's grandson is up in the air. While there are ways to win over magistrates, there are no miracles for a confessed murderer.
However, the sources consulted agree that Sancho's confession is precisely his best argument to get the capital punishment commuted to life imprisonment and, subsequently, to be able to opt for reduced sentences and an eventual transfer to a Spanish prison . Cooperation with justice is a great mitigation in Thailand, but it must not be forgotten that a quarterback is being tried. The last executed in Thailand was, according to his widow, for denying that he was guilty.
There is a rumor that Sancho could retract his confession - at the behest of the defense - and could stick to his first version, of involuntary manslaughter, even in self-defense.
Artur Segarra, who was jailed for dismembering the consultant David Bernat, also Catalan, in Bangkok in 2016 could corroborate that in Thailand being too ready doesn't help. Segarra pleaded innocent to the end, despite the evidence against him, and rushed the death sentence.
But not even with this verdict is the game over. For King Rama X's birthday, Segarra wrote an eight-page letter pleading guilty and demanding a reduced sentence. These are techniques that Sancho will have to learn in Bangkok prison.
The superior of the Jesuits in Thailand, the Galician Miguel Garaizábal, has known this prison for half a century and brings cans of tuna to Segarra, as part of his visits to the Hispanic community. "Now there are four Peruvians, two Spaniards and one Argentinian, but there were 33". As he explains, "Thailand has been emptying the prisons of foreigners, with more reason since the infections of the pandemic".
In short, "at the age of eight or nine they all leave. Because with good behavior, the life sentence stays in 50 years. Then it can be reduced by 20% for the anniversary of the coronation or the birthday of the king".
In Segarra, Thailand will not let him go out until he returns to Bernat's family the 20,000 euros he took from the card. But he is in no hurry, because in Barcelona the Cocoon case, of defrauding elderly women, is still under trial, the case for which he fled to Bangkok.
The Sancho case, like his and any other, will be tried by three magistrates, which makes it difficult for Martingales. "The contract, always written by hand, is very scrupulous and nothing is ever missing", praises the Jesuit, who confesses: "Rodolfo Sancho called me to visit his son in Samui and I told him no, that I have more eighty years old, but that the confession had saved his life".
