How many shots can a group of soldiers fire at a family of unarmed civilians without serving time in jail? The Superior Military Court released the mark of 257. , the court reduced the punishment of the agents who killed the musician Evaldo Rosa and the collector Luciano Macedo, in 2019. They will spend three years in open regime.
The trial confirmed the thesis that the officers, corporals and soldiers who participated in the operation in Rio, fired shots in the context of a confrontation with bandits. Analyzing the circumstances of intent and guilt of security agents is the duty of any judge. The winning ministers, however, preferred to treat the shooters as victims.
Lieutenant-brigadier Carlos Augusto Oliveira, rapporteur of the case, accepted the defense of the military, who say they had . He stated that the agents were trying to “contain a criminal action, even if imaginary.” In an exercise of speculation, he also said that the musician may have been killed in an exchange of gunfire with criminals, without the certainty that the shots came from Army agents.
In the vote, the rapporteur made a consideration. He pointed out that the group of soldiers made a mistake in identifying the car, failed to check whether Evaldo was armed and did not consider the option of injuring the driver instead of shooting to kill. It remained to be explained whether any part of the approach was correct.
Other ministers staged a show of corporatism in front of Evaldo’s son. Reviewer of the process, José Coêlho Ferreira described the situation of the deaths as “a big mess”. General Lúcio Mário de Barros Góes said he regretted sentencing “good people for the tragic occurrence”.
The nature of the agents was not on trial. The only question to be considered is whether or not a group that ignores the circumstances of an approach and fires 257 shots assumes the intention to kill. “Good” soldiers can make mistakes, but they need to be held responsible for their actions. The Military Justice has given every proof that it has no interest in subjecting its own people to this ordeal.
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