Senate committee presses Justice secretary to testify in Ley 25 probe after release tied to alleged feminicide

The joint Commission on Community Initiatives, Mental Health and Addiction, and Legal and Economic Development of the Senate of Puerto Rico convened Sept. 19 to examine whether Ley 25 of 1992 and related administrative practices led to the early release of inmates and whether those processes should be amended. Presiding Senator opened the hearing and said the committee was acting under Senate Resolution 933.

The committee read a letter it received Sept. 18 from Secretary of Justice Domingo Emanuel Hernández informing the panel he would not appear at the scheduled public hearing. The Presiding Senator read the text for the record and stressed the legislature’s investigatory powers, saying the Secretary’s legal views are “medular” to any proposed changes to Ley 25. The transcript notes the Secretary is a long-practicing attorney; the letter, as read, asserts the Secretary’s discretion to decide whether to appear publicly.

Lawmakers linked the inquiry to the case of a person identified in the record as Elmes Ávila Vázquez (the transcript also includes a variant spelling, Hermes Ávila Vásquez), who the committee said was released under Ley 25 in April 2023 and is accused in the alleged killing of Ivette Joan Meléndez Vega on April 21, 2024. “Una cosa no se puede separar de la otra,” the Presiding Senator said, arguing the committee must examine whether the law and implementing procedures permitted a release that posed risk to public safety.

An unidentified senator supporting the chair called the Secretary’s letter “incoherente” and said that, even if some questions touch on ongoing investigations, the Secretary could appear and reserve objections to specific questions. That senator urged reconvening at 1:00 p.m. to continue the process. “No puede ser porque existe la posibilidad de que se haga alguna pregunta inapropiada… que entonces no comparezca,” the senator said.

The Presiding Senator warned that if Secretary Hernández did not attend the rescheduled hearing, the Senate would use provisions of the political code to cite him under threat of contempt and would seek the court’s assistance to compel his attendance, as it has done previously. The committee recessed at 10:32 a.m. and reconvened at 1:00 p.m.

At the afternoon session, another senator told the body the government had been “poco colaborador” and said the Secretary had offered to appear in an executive (closed) session rather than in public. That senator formally moved that the public hearing be converted to an executive session in another room at 1:15 p.m.; the Presiding Senator accepted the motion, and the committee recessed to pursue the executive session.

The committee’s public record for the day includes: the committee’s statement of investigatory scope under Resolution 933 (approved May 6, 2024), the committee’s note that it has held seven hearings and issued a partial report on June 28, 2024, and the read communication from Secretary Hernández declining a public appearance while asserting discretion. Lawmakers said they will pursue available enforcement steps if the Secretary does not comply with the committee’s citation.

Next steps: the committee planned to continue with an executive session at 1:15 p.m. to receive testimony that the Secretary said he was willing to give in private; the public record shows the committee signaled it may seek court assistance if the Secretary ultimately refuses to appear.