Peru Bill Would End Sentence Reductions for Femicide, Kidnapping and Aggravated Robbery
PERU · JUSTICE
Key Facts
- —The bill Deputy Norma Yarrow of Renovación Popular presented Bill 00033-2026-2031-CD on 13 August, targeting sentence reductions for three violent crimes.
- —The mechanism A new clause in Article 51 of the Penal Execution Code would block “redemption of sentence through work or education” for aggravated convictions of femicide, kidnapping and aggravated robbery.
- —The current math Inmates convicted of aggravated robbery can cut one day of prison for every five days of work or study; for grave crimes such as femicide the ratio is one day for seven.
- —The scope The ban would apply only where a firm conviction establishes aggravated circumstances; extortion is already excluded from the benefit under a separate law.
- —The status The proposal awaits committee assignment in the new Chamber of Deputies; no debate date has been set.
A Peruvian deputy wants people convicted of femicide, kidnapping and aggravated robbery to serve every day of their sentences — closing a benefit that lets inmates trade work and study for early release.
Peru femicide convicts would lose the right to work or study their way to an earlier release under a bill presented in the Chamber of Deputies by Norma Yarrow Lumbreras, a deputy of the conservative Renovación Popular party.
The initiative, registered on 13 August as Bill 00033-2026-2031-CD — registry entry 3710-CD — is formally titled “Legislative Proposal that Strengthens Restrictions on Prison Benefits for High-Harm Crimes.” It takes aim at one of the oldest features of Peru’s prison system: the redención de la pena, the redemption of sentence time through work or education.
What the Bill Would Change
The text adds a new clause, numeral 51.5, to Article 51 of the consolidated Penal Execution Code, the body of rules that governs how sentences are served. The clause declares sentence redemption through work or education inadmissible for those convicted of three crimes defined in the Penal Code: femicide (Article 108-B), kidnapping (Article 152) and aggravated robbery (Article 189).
The restriction is deliberately narrow. It applies only when a firm conviction establishes that the crime was committed in one of its aggravated modalities — not for every conviction under those articles. Where it does apply, the bill switches off the standard redemption rules of numerals 51.2 and 51.3 entirely. A final provision orders immediate application to current inmates under Constitutional Court doctrine on prison-benefit rules.
Two things the bill does not do: it does not ban work or study inside prison — only their conversion into reduced time — and it does not touch extortion, for which redemption is already absolutely inadmissible under Law 30077.
The Arithmetic of Redemption
Under the current regime, the trade-off is concrete. For aggravated robbery, special laws in force since 2013 and 2014 let a first-time inmate redeem one day of sentence for every five days of work or study. For grave crimes, including femicide, the ratio stands at one day for seven, under rates last adjusted by Legislative Decree 1737, issued in February 2026 under powers Congress delegated through Law 32527. A 2023 decree, Legislative Decree 1576, had set the earlier framework.
In practice, the math can cut years off long sentences. An inmate serving fifteen years for an aggravated femicide conviction who works or studies continuously can see the effective term shrink by roughly two years under the one-for-seven ratio — a gap between the sentence announced in court and the time actually served that victims’ groups have long denounced.
Why Now
The bill’s justification leans on Peru’s deteriorating security climate. It cites the national statistics institute INEI’s 2025 victimization figures, which showed crime touching more households, and the wave of extortion and kidnapping that has hit bus drivers and small merchants in Lima and the provinces — the same security crisis that brought down President Dina Boluarte in October 2025 and has defined Peruvian politics since.
“Femicide, kidnapping and aggravated robbery are crimes that destroy families and must be paid with the full sentence,” Yarrow wrote on X this week, presenting the initiative. “Whoever is convicted of these crimes must serve their sentence without prison benefits for work or education.”
The proposal lands as the Fujimori government makes security the center of its agenda. President Keiko Fujimori’s programme, presented to Congress in August, put the fight against organized crime first, and this week Peru joined the United States-led Escudo de las Américas security alliance during Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Lima. A benefits crackdown for violent convicts fits squarely in that current — and gives Renovación Popular, the conservative party founded by Rafael López Aliaga, its own banner on the issue.
What Happens Next
The bill now enters the machinery of Peru’s new bicameral Congress, restored for the 2026-2031 term after more than three decades of unicameral rule. As a Chamber of Deputies initiative, it must first be assigned to a committee — justice would be the natural destination — survive debate there, and then win approval in the chamber’s plenary before passing to the Senate. No committee assignment or debate date had been confirmed as of Thursday.
That path is long, and most bills in Peru never complete it. But the politics of this one are favorable: with extortion dominating headlines and every party competing to look toughest on crime, a proposal to make convicted femicides serve full sentences will be difficult for any bench to vote against — and difficult to ignore.
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