A Case of Capital Importance: People v. Pagal and the Application of Section 3, Rule 116 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure to a Guilty Plea to a Murder Charge (Part 1)
In People v. Pagal, G.R. No. 241257, 29 September 2020 (en banc), an information was filed in the RTC charging the accused with murder committed in 2008. Under the Revised Penal Code, any person found guilty of murder shall be punished by reclusion perpetua to death. At the time of the commission of the crime,…