NEW YORK: A federal appeals court yesterday upheld the prison sentence of a man who turned himself in to authorities more than 40 years after participating in an aeroplane hijacking, but said he is a “worthy candidate” for a pardon.
Luis Armando Pena Soltren, a US citizen, spent more than 40 years in Cuba as a fugitive after taking part in the 1968 hijacking of a Pan Am flight. He surrendered to US authorities in 2009 and eventually pleaded guilty. In January 2011, Pena Soltren was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Yesterday, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said that the lower court had properly taken all relevant factors into account when sentencing Pena Soltren. The judges, however, expressed some measure of sympathy for the defendant.
“There seems to be no reason to question his genuine remorse and his otherwise unblemished record of service to family and community,” the decision said. “Pena Soltren is eligible for parole after five years. He is a worthy candidate for that relief, or for a pardon, notwithstanding that he can find no basis for relief in this court.” The US Attorney’s office in Manhattan, which prosecuted Pena Soltren, declined to
comment. REUTERS
