The Philippines executed a convicted child rapist yesterday, ending months of debate on capital punishment in the predominately Roman Catholic country. It was the country's first execution in 23 years.
Leo Echegaray (38), a housepainter, was pronounced dead at 7.19 a.m. (Irish time), eight minutes after he was injected with chemicals, the Justice Secretary, Mr Serafin Cuevas, told reporters after witnessing the execution.
Church bells rang across Manila at the time of the execution in what priests said was a prayer for his soul and disapproval of capital punishment. Echegaray's wife, Ms Zenaida Javier, was among those watching the execution through a one-way mirror.
Two hours before the execution, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal for a stay. President Joseph Estrada, who has led the move to bring back capital punishment, said Echegaray's death would serve as a warning.
"Today's [Friday's] execution is proof of the government's determination to maintain law and order," he said in a statement. "The crime committed by Mr Echegaray . . . [was] an act of bestiality which deserves the stiffest punishment under the law."
Echegaray was convicted in 1994 of raping his 10-year-old step-daughter by a previous wife. He had said he was innocent.
The Philippines abolished the death penalty in 1987 but reintroduced it in 1994. It last held an execution in 1976.