Pinochet's legal problems

The Miami Herald has a good discussion of Augusto Pinochet’s legal woes. My only complaint would be that it is vague about the laws that block prosecution. It’s not simply a matter of “lax amnesty laws” but rather an often confusing combination of immunity as former head of state, and protection via the 1978 amnesty, depending on when the crime took place. Added to that is the argument is that he has “dementia” (he will soon be 91) and therefore is unfit to stand trial. All of these issues must also filter through several levels of court hearings and appeals.

I had also neglected to mention the truly surreal statements his daughter made a few days ago, in which she said Pinochet “felt great pain” for people who suffered while he was in power. Further:

"He is not prepared to ask for a national forgiveness as some want, but he is prepared to meet any of those people and talk to them," Lucia Pinochet told the television's Wednesday late news program. "There, he would see whether to ask for their forgiveness."

Under his personal direction, the dictatorship was engaged in cold hearted, cold blooded murder. And yet he talks about a) having a chat with victims’ families; and b) deciding afterward whether he would bother asking for forgiveness.