La Manada to serve more prison time than murderers and ETA members

The convicted men of La Manada will accumulate more years in prison than many murderers or ETA members

Is it possible for a sensual assault sentence to exceed that of a homicide? The five men from Seville sentenced for the gang rape at the 2016 San Fermín festival are serving terms that, according to current projections, will extend beyond 2030. A comparison with other crimes reveals differences that at least invite reflection.

The figures of discord

The final ruling by the Supreme Court imposed sentences totaling between 15 and 25 years for each, depending on their degree of participation. Added to this is €500,000 in compensation to the victim and two additional years for the theft of the mobile phone. In practice, none will obtain parole before 2030. By then, they will have served more than 14 actual years in prison.

The contrast with other prison statistics is striking: the average actual time served for murder is around 12-15 years, and numerous ETA members have obtained prison benefits after serving less than a decade. In public debate, this imbalance has fueled the perception that the judicial response was disproportionate or, at the very least, unequal.

Lawfare or exemplary justice

The La Manada case has been described by some analysts as the clearest example of "lawfare" in Spain: a instrumentalization of justice for political and media purposes. The media coverage prior to the trial, with the dissemination of identities and personal data, generated pressure that, according to this view, influenced the final ruling. The dissenting opinion of Judge Ricardo González, who spoke of "revelry and rejoicing" and defended acquittal, was ignored by the majority.

On the other side, those who maintain that the sentence was proportionate to the gravity of the facts and that any comparison with other crimes ignores the particularities of each case: the cruelty, the recording and the subsequent theft of the mobile phone aggravate the conduct. They also recall that the courts acted with full independence and that the appeal to the Supreme Court exhausted all guarantees.

The effect on trust in justice

Beyond opinions, the case has left a deep mark on public perception of the judicial system. The feeling that there are two standards—one for high-profile sensual crimes and another for the rest—erodes institutional credibility. The discussion about whether sentences serve a rehabilitative or merely exemplary function remains open, with no consensus in sight.

The coming years will be key to assessing whether the debate on the proportionality of sentences translates into legislative changes or whether, as until now, the Spanish penal system remains a mosaic of disparities that escape legal logic.