• Condemnation: What is the reviewable permanent prison
  • Case of Gabriel Cruz: Ana Julia Quezada, first woman sentenced to permanent prison reviewable

The reviewable permanent prison that has been imposed on Ana Julia Quezada today is the eleventh in Spain since it was introduced in the 2015 Penal Code reform, although in one of its cases its application has been revoked by the Supreme Court.

Until now, the damned had all been men, which makes the murderer of the child Gabriel Cruz the first woman to receive a permanent prison .

The 11 people with permanent prison have killed 15 people. Eight of them were minors and 10 were women, two of the cases contemplated in article 140 of the Penal Code to apply the penalty.

The four cases for applying permanent detention in case of murder are: that the victim is under 16 or vulnerable to illness; that the murder occurs after a sexual assault; that the crime is committed by a member of a criminal organization, or that the convicted person has murdered more than two people.

1. David Oubel, murderer of his two daughters

It was the first permanent prison to be applied, on July 6, 2015. David Oubel murdered his two daughters, aged nine and four, in Moraña (Pontevedra), using a radial saw and a kitchen knife. Before he had drugged them to reduce their chances of defense.

2. Sergio Díaz, murderer of his girlfriend's grandfather

It was the second permanent prison that was applied, and the first to be revoked. In January 2016, Sergio Díaz killed the grandfather of his then-girlfriend in Icod de los Vinos (Tenerife), a man who was in a wheelchair due to a severe disability after having suffered a stroke.

This permanent prison was the first one reviewed by the Supreme Court and was revoked, under the technical argument that the same aggravating factor had been applied twice. The ruling of the Supreme Court opened the door for permanent detention to be applied with greater difficulty, but subsequent decisions of the High Court have caused the opposite to occur.

3. Daniel Montaño, murderer of a girl

In January 2016, Daniel Montaño murdered a 17-month-old girl in Vitoria, the daughter of a woman he had just met, who he also tried to kill. Montaño threw the girl through the window of a first floor and at the trial argued that she had suffered a psychotic outbreak. It didn't work. He was sentenced to permanent prison and the Supreme Court subsequently ratified the sentence, avoiding applying the criteria followed in the case of Sergio Díaz.

4. Marcos Miras, murderer of his son with a shovel

On May 7, 2017, Marcos Miras murdered his 11-year-old son in Oza (La Coruña), hitting him with a shovel. It was Mother's Day, but the child was with him because it was the weekend that corresponded to him due to the visitation regime agreed upon after his divorce, in 2009. As in other cases, Miras wielded psychological problems, but the jury He convicted him unanimously and received permanent prison.

5. Patrick Nogueira, Pioz's killer

It is one of the most chilling cases that have occurred in Spain in recent years. Patrick Nogueira planned and executed the murders of his uncles and his two small cousins, four and one year old, on a day of terror at the family home in Pioz (Guadalajara), in September 2016. The details of the crimes and the mobile messages that Nogueira crossed with a friend while he committed them shook public opinion. He received three permanent prison sentences, although later the Supreme Court annulled two of them. It is the second case in which the High Court has revoked them.

6. Pablo Catalán, the choke of Castellar

Pablo Catalán's was the first permanent prison sentence of 2019, the year in which - with six sentences - the application of this penalty has become widespread. Catalan raped and strangled an unconscious woman in December 2015 at his home in Castellar del Vallès (Barcelona). The murderer and his victim had been celebrating her birthday with some friends, and then took advantage of her drunkenness to rape her several times and kill her. It was the first permanent prison applied for the assumption of murder after sexual assault.

7. Enrique Romay, the rapist of Pilas

Last April the Audience of Seville condemned Enrique Romay for stabbing a woman in Pilas (Seville) who had opposed resistance when the convict had tried to rape her. The crime had occurred in March 2017 and the court highlighted the "unnecessary suffering" that Romay caused his victim.

8. Francisco Salvador, the gender murderer of Huércal

Francisco Salvador's was the first permanent prison applied in a case of gender violence. In January 2017, the convicted sexually assaulted his ex-partner and beat her to death in Huércal (Almería). The man had a history of gender violence against other women.

9. Rafael García, murderer of his disabled woman

In November 2017, Rafael García murdered his wife in Mora (Toledo). The victim was disabled and used a wheelchair due to the disease of the crystal bones . She and her killer had been married for years and had a five-year-old daughter. Rafael García raged himself, propitiating his victim with more than 20 stabs, and committed the crime in front of the woman's mother and a 15-month-old nephew.

10. Roberto Hernández, the Valladolid pedophile

He was until now the last one sentenced to permanent prison. He received the penalty on June 5, considering him the jury guilty of having raped a four-year-old girl in August 2017 in Valladolid and of having murdered her after giving him brutal blows. The man was a couple of the victim's mother and the girl had suffered previous abuse. The woman was also sentenced, to 28 years in prison, for not protecting her daughter.

11. Ana Julia Quezada, Gabriel's killer

It has been the last permanent prison applied and the first one that falls on a woman. The jury considered Quezada guilty of murdering Gabriel Cruz, the son of his partner, in February 2018 on the estate of Rodalquilar (Níjar, Almería).

All these sentences are being fulfilled, although they could still be annulled. More than four years later, the Constitutional Court still does not rule on the appeal filed by the PSOE against the introduction of permanent prison in the Criminal Code. The penalty has broad social support and from the PSOE itself no one speaks against it, but the appeal is filed and the High Court could decide in any way.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Ana Julia Quezada
  • Reviewable permanent prison
  • Gabriel Cruz
  • Events

CourtsJust doubts the application of the reviewable permanent prison in the cases of minors

EventsAna Julia Quezada killed Gabriel Cruz with joy, the popular jury sentence

AndalusiaAna Julia Quezada, sentenced to permanent prison reviewable for the murder of Gabriel Cruz