A Salvadoran Hero's Justice

Inside the main doors of the National Cathedral stands a statue of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero. This man helped the poor in El Salvador and even gave his life when he was assassinated. It took 25 years to bring justice to the ones responsible for Romero's death. Last Friday a federal judge ordered the man who hired the gunman to shoot Romero to pay $10 million in compensation and punitive damages. Their was a lead on this man in 1993 after the civil war in El Salvador, but after that the government enacted a law that prohibited prosecution of those who were accused of crimes during the war. Some thought the trial in America will reflect back to El Salvador and change their amnesty laws like Chile and Argentina have been doing. However, El Salvadoran President, Tony Saca, denied a request to lift the amnesty law to find Romero's killer. He said, "Opening up the wounds of the past would not help a country that is looking to the future."