May 23, 8:53 PM EDT
Indian town drops death penalty in murder case
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) -- An Indian community that sentenced a young man to death by hanging for the murder of another man softened his punishment Sunday, ordering him to do five years of community service instead.
Orlando Quishpe, 21, was also subjected to punishments that included carrying a heavy sack of dirt, an ice-water bath and a public whipping with a thorny plant while he was forced to beg forgiveness.
Ecuador's attorney general had threatened legal action against the community after it ordered Quishpe's execution last week, because the South American nation does not allow the death penalty.
The Indians refused the government's request that the suspect be handed over to the regular courts. Ecuador's constitution recognizes indigenous justice as long as it does not violate the charter or human rights.
An assembly of residents in La Cocha, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) from the capital, debated for six hours Sunday and dropped the death penalty.
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