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Case digest · Imbecility as an exempting circumstance
People vs. Nuñez
In a kidnapping case, the defense said that Nuñez’s co-accused could not read, could write only his name and could count only up to fifty. Did that make him an imbecile under the law?
Facts
January 1993
Two 14-year-old high school students were lured away from their school to a hut in a fishpond in Malabon. One was held for ransom; the other was killed. Three men were charged; two were convicted, and the third remained at large.
The trial court
The trial court convicted both accused of kidnapping for ransom and of kidnapping with murder, and sentenced each of them to reclusion perpetua for each crime.
The appeal
The appeal before the Court was by Nuñez’s co-accused, the accused-appellant. He argued that his very low level of intelligence, which he said showed a mental age of between six and ten years, exempted him from criminal liability. He had testified that he did not know how to read, could write only his name and could count only up to fifty. He also pointed to his cutting grass when he was supposed to be guarding a victim.
Issue
Did the accused-appellant’s claimed imbecility exempt him from criminal liability under Article 12 of the Revised Penal Code?
Ruling
No. The Court rejected the imbecility defense. It affirmed the conviction for kidnapping for ransom and, in the second case, modified the conviction to homicide.
The Court held that the defense’s claim of imbecility was not supported by evidence. Cutting grass instead of guarding the victim could hardly show imbecility; at most it might be negligence. The accused-appellant also admitted on cross-examination that he could tell right from wrong. Even assuming he was feebleminded, the Court recalled People vs. Formigones, where feeblemindedness was held not exempting because the offender could distinguish right from wrong. The law presumes every person to be of sound mind, so imbecility must be clearly proved. The Court also rejected his defense of uncontrollable fear, since he had at least four chances to escape, and found that he conspired in the crimes. Because there was no intent to hold the second victim for ransom, the crime as to him was homicide, not kidnapping with murder.
“The defense counsel's attribution of imbecility is not supported by evidence.”
Doctrine
Imbecility exempts from criminal liability under Article 12, paragraph 1 of the Revised Penal Code. The Court described an imbecile as one “who, while advanced in age, has a mental development comparable to that of children between two and seven years of age.” Feeblemindedness alone is not exempting (People vs. Formigones, G.R. No. L-3246, November 29, 1950), and since the law presumes every person to be of sound mind, “The allegation of insanity or imbecility must be clearly proved.”
Bar tip
Low literacy or poor judgment does not prove imbecility, and an accused who admits he can tell right from wrong is not an imbecile. Feeblemindedness is not exempting; in People vs. Formigones it was treated as mitigating. And even when an exemption under Article 12, paragraph 1 applies, Article 101 of the Revised Penal Code keeps the civil liability.
Watch it explained
Kasalanan Ba ang Maging Bobo? Negligence sa Batas
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This digest is general legal information for education, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the decision. Quoted passages are taken word for word from the full text.