‘The Courts Have Killed Her A Second Time’: Repubblika And Graffitti Lash Out At Magistrate’s Miriam Pace Verdict
Civil society groups Repubblika and Graffitti have both lashed out at Magistrate Joe Mifsud’s decision to spare two architects found to have been responsible for the house collapse that killed Miriam Pace jail time
The two architects, Roderick Camilleri, 37, and Anthony Mangion, 73, were found guilty of causing Pace’s death through negligence and of damaging third-party buildings.
Instead of jail time, however, the pair were ordered to perform community service and pay a fine as punishment.
“Today the court killed Miriam Pace a second time,” Repubblika said in a Facebook post.
The group said that Pace had been killed because others wanted to make money.
“She was killed in a frantic attempt for someone to fill his bank account while suffocating others in concrete… She was killed so that our country could continue to be filled with monuments to greed and mediocrity,” Repubblika said.
The group added that “those who had urged us to make hay while the sun shines have now put everyone else in the shade” – a reference to statements made by Malta Developers Association president Sandro Chetcuti in the past.
The magistrate’s decision has also been condemned by the activist group Moviment Graffitti.
“A shameful decision by Magistrate Joe Mifsud who handed down a punishment of 800 hours of community service to two architects guilty of causing Miriam Pace’s death, Moviment Graffitti said.
“While in his sentence Mifsud said that the court could not give in to public opinion, the ridiculous punishment given in relation to the death of this woman are indicative of just how much the authorities, the laws and the courts in Malta respect the value of life.”
The court, it said, was sending the message that developers can do whatever they want without consequence.
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