Last chance for Imelda Marcos

Last chance for Imelda Marcos

MANILA (AP): Lawyers for Imelda Marcos on Thursday made their final appeal before the Philippine Supreme Court to keep the widow of the former leader from serving a 12-year jail term for graft.

In 1993, Imelda was found to have violated the anti-graft law on two counts involving the lease of government property and was sentenced to 24 years in jail.

In January of this year, the high tribunal acquitted the widow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos of one charge but upheld her conviction on the second charge, which carried a maximum prison term of 12 years. She was also fined 189 million pesos ($4.3 million).

Imelda and former transportation minister Jose Dans were accused of entering into five "unfavorable" contracts involving the government-run commuter railway and the private Philippine General Hospital Foundation.