Estrada rejects clemency appeal

Estrada rejects clemency appeal

MANILA (AP): President Joseph Estrada said on Friday he will not grant clemency to a child rapist scheduled to become the first criminal executed in the Philippines in 23 years.

Leo Echegaray, who was convicted of repeatedly raping his 10- year-old stepdaughter, insisted on his innocence in a statement on Thursday and appealed to Estrada for clemency.

"Up to my last breath I will tell the world that I'm a victim of injustice and that I'm innocent," Echegaray said in a statement.

Echegaray, 38, also urged the Congress to review a law that restored capital punishment in the country, saying many inmates ended up in prison because they were too poor to afford good lawyers.

Echegaray, a poor house painter and restaurant waiter, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Feb. 5.