After official attempts to cover up the killing, international pressure, and the extraordinary determination of Mack's sister Helen, led to the nearly unprecedented trial and conviction of the military specialist who killed her. Three high ranking military officers, indicted last June on charges of ordering the killing, now seek annulment of that prosecution. With the amnesty proceedings under way, the Mack case is again poised to have effect beyond the court in which it is decided. This time, however, the impact will not be merely symbolic. The amnesty proceedings test the ability of Guatemala's courts to withstand pressure from the military and to properly apply legal standards intended to limit the amnesty to crimes connected to the armed conflict.
Cautious optimism seems to be in order.
Guatemala's Attorney General and several prominent legislators have already suggested that the facts of the Mack case plainly put it out of the intended reach of the amnesty law. In March an appeals court rejected the defendants' amnesty petition on procedural grounds. The defendants appealed and further proceedings are expected. Guatemala's courts will have to overcome a history of bending to powerful interests. The stakes are high.