The Colombia Supreme Court of Justice ruled that kidnappers are
eligible to obtain a reduction in their sentence if it can be proved
that they did not profit from the crime.
The ruling comes with the provision that the kidnapper voluntarily turn himself or herself in and confess to the crime.
The Court advised that when a kidnapper decides to release his or her victim within the first 15 days of capture, he or she can request up to a fifty percent reduction in his or her sentence.
It stressed the kidnapper must prove that no gain, whether financial or otherwise, was obtained. A kidnapper who raped and immediately released the victim would not be eligible for a sentence reduction, as it would be viewed that they had benefitted from the kidnapping.