Legal analysis: The Emanuel Contreras case and the application of the Penal Code
Renowned criminal lawyer Jean Cristofer Pérez offered technical details regarding the judicial process following the death of Emanuel Contreras. According to the jurist, the case must be tried under the framework of the Penal Code that was in effect at the time of the event, ruling out the retroactive application of the new regulations that came into force on August 5th.
Pérez emphasized that, because the incident was recorded on July 1st, the principle of non-retroactivity of criminal law prevails. This principle establishes that citizens must be prosecuted according to the laws that were in force during the commission of the act, a fundamental norm within the Dominican legal system.
Legal qualification and the role of the Public Prosecutor’s Office
In the request for a coercive measure, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has provisionally classified the act as homicide. Under the previous Penal Code, this classification carries penalties that can reach up to 20 years in prison, although Pérez clarified that this qualification is preliminary.
The expert pointed out that it will be the court’s responsibility, after analyzing the evidence presented, to determine the final classification and the corresponding sanction for the defendant, Lenin Núñez.
Independent crimes: Fraud and homicide
A key point in Pérez’s analysis is the distinction between the alleged fraud prior to the incident and the homicide of Contreras. The lawyer stressed that both acts represent distinct crimes with separate constituent elements and legal consequences.
The moment the crime of fraud is completed, the crime of homicide begins.
Jean Cristofer Pérez, criminal defense attorney.
The jurist argued that, although the theory of the case suggests that both individuals were victims of a scam by a third party, this condition does not exempt Núñez from criminal responsibility for the fatal outcome. According to the analysis of the circumstances, the blows dealt were disproportionate, considering that the victim did not pose an imminent danger nor was he carrying weapons at the time of the altercation.
The process continues under the scrutiny of the justice system, awaiting for judicial authorities to evaluate the conduct and proportionality of the actions that led to the loss of Emanuel Contreras’s life.
