Supreme Court reduces sentence to 16 years for man who killed woman in Algarve

The Supreme Court of Justice in Portugal has reduced the prison sentence of a man convicted of murdering a Brazilian woman from 22 to 16 years. The court found that the evidence did not support a conviction for qualified homicide, which requires proof of special culpability. The initial sentence was 25 years, later reduced to 22 years by the Évora Court of Appeal. The case involved the murder of Josielly Fontes, whose body was discovered burned in Alentejo. The defendant, José Mascarenhas, had planned to steal the victim's bank cards, using physical force against her. The court emphasized that the circumstances did not demonstrate the necessary elements for a more severe charge.