News

The ruling judge in the case against the man responsible for the death of young nursing student Nagore Laffage has sentenced José Diego Yllanes to twelve years in prison citing "abuse of position". Last Friday, a popular jury found Yllanes guilty of homicide but ruled that he was not guilty of the crime of murder, a decision which triggered considerable controversy.

The final sentence considered as extenuating circumstances the accused''s inebriated state at the time of the crime plus the considerable compensation payment made by him to the family of the victim; however, the judge did not consider mitigating circumstances Yllanes'' emotional state when he carried out the crime or his subsequent confession.

The final sentence of twelve and a half years was the tariff requested by the state prosecutors though it is somewhat less than the punishment applied for by private prosecutors and public accusers who requested fifteen years.

The judge declared his final ruling at the Provincial High Court of Navarre shortly after 1pm. Exactly one week previously, a popular jury concluded that Yllanes was guilty of homicide but not of murder.

After hearing the jury''s verdict, the state prosecution made an application for 12 years imprisonment for Yllanes, while private prosecutors continued to push for a 15-year sentence.

However, both prosecuting teams revealed that they would be appealing against the jury''s decision given that both were requesting that Yllanes be found guilty of murder for which he would be liable for a sentence of between seventeen and twenty years imprisonment.