G.R. No. L-3875
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. JANUARIO FRANCISCO, defendant-appellant.
February 19, 1908

FACTS:
Defendant Januario Francisco was charged with the assassination of his laborer, Cristobal Alimbubuyog, on October 20, 1906. The prosecution alleged Francisco struck Alimbubuyog on the head with a heavy tool, then fastened a rope around his neck and hung him to a tree to make it appear a suicide, with treachery, premeditation, and cruelty. The lower court found Francisco guilty of assassination and sentenced him to death.

Evidence presented showed that Francisco was seen scolding Alimbubuyog, his laborer, shortly before the incident. Soon after, Francisco was observed making a rope and hanging Alimbubuyog’s body to a tree. When the body was found, Alimbubuyog’s feet were touching the ground, and he had a severe wound on his head sufficient to cause death. A postmortem examination revealed no injuries to the neck from the hanging, conclusively proving death was not caused by hanging. The Supreme Court was convinced that Francisco struck Alimbubuyog, causing death, and then hung the body to conceal the crime. Francisco’s sole defense was an alibi.

During the trial, the fiscal presented evidence that Francisco had been previously sentenced to death for assassination by a military commission in 1900, which was commuted to 20 years imprisonment. He was later pardoned and released under the July 4, 1902 amnesty proclamation, after taking the oath of allegiance. The lower court considered this prior conviction as an aggravating circumstance.

ISSUE:
1. Whether the crime committed by Januario Francisco constituted assassination or simple homicide.
2. Whether a prior conviction for a similar offense, which was subsequently completely pardoned through an amnesty proclamation, can be considered an aggravating circumstance.

RULING:
1. The Supreme Court found that the evidence did not disclose any of the qualifying circumstances of treachery, premeditation, or cruelty as defined in Article 403 of the Penal Code, which are necessary to qualify the crime as assassination. Therefore, the crime committed by Januario Francisco was simple homicide.
2. The Supreme Court ruled that a complete pardon, such as the one extended to Januario Francisco by the President of the United States, extinguishes all legal effects of the pardoned crime. Consequently, the prior pardoned conviction could not be considered an aggravating circumstance for the purpose of increasing the penalty in the present case.

Finding neither aggravating nor extenuating circumstances, the Court held that the penalty for homicide (reclusion temporal) must be applied in its medium degree, in accordance with Article 81 of the Penal Code.

The lower court’s sentence was modified. Januario Francisco was found guilty of homicide and sentenced to seventeen years and four months of reclusion temporal, with the accessory penalties of the law, to indemnify the family of the deceased in the sum of P500, and to pay the costs.