A First: Woman Given Panama’s New Maximum Prison Sentence

Colombian national Blanca Donado became the first woman to receive Panama’s new maximum prison sentence of 30 years late Friday night.

Donado was convicted  of the December 13, 2007 murder of lawyer Juan Carlos Dudley. Donado’s accomplice, Melanie Narvaez, also Colombian, was sentenced to 28 years in prison.

Panama’s revised penal code, published on April 26, 2010, increased the maximum sentence for stand-alone pre-medidated crimes from 2o years to deter criminality.  Prison terms handed down for concurrent crimes cannot exceed 50 years.