Life imprisonment in Spain was introduced by the Ley Orgánica 1/2015 in March 2015, effective from 1 July 2015. The sentence can be revised, so it is officially called "revisable permanent imprisonment" ().
History Life imprisonment had previously been introduced in 1822 as a life sentence of forced labour, and in 1848 was revised as life in prison. In 1870, this was reformed to allow the possibility of parole after 30 years; at this time all life prisoners were detained in North Africa or the Canary Islands.
In 1928, the military dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera removed life imprisonment from the statute books, though the death penalty remained. Capital punishment was retained under Francisco Franco, and the maximum prison sentence was of 30 years. After the Spanish transition to democracy, the death penalty was abolished and the maximum prison sentence remained at 30 until November 2003, when the government of José María Aznar increased it to 40 years for convicted terrorists.
A legislation establishing life imprisonment was passed on 26 March 2015. All votes in favour came from the governing People's Party. +Voting results for Ley Orgánica 1/2015, de 30 de marzo in the Congress of DeputiesDateVoting Total26 March 2015 Required simple majorityYes181 No991131143211111Abstention2Did not vote511252211
Murders are punished with life imprisonment in the following cases: When the victim is under the age of 16; When the victim is particularly vulnerable; When the murder takes place with sexual offences; When the murderer is part of a criminal organisation; When it is a multiple murder; When the victim is the monarch, consort or heir to the throne; When the victim is a foreign head of state or diplomat; Cases of Terrorism; Cases of genocide or crimes against humanity.
Convicts must serve between 25 and 35 years of their sentence, depending on the severity of their crimes, before being eligible for parole.
After the adoption of the current statute in 2015, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) challenged it at the Constitutional Court. In October 2021, by seven votes to three, life imprisonment was deemed constitutional.
Cases As of 2026, 58 people have been sentenced to a reviewable permanent prison sentence: 46 men and 12 women.
+#NameAge at offenseLocationDate of sentenceCrimeStatus1 David Oubel40 Moraña6 July 2015Murder of his two minor daughters.Serving time. First person sentenced to permanent revisable imprisonment.2 Sergio Díaz22 Icod de los Vinos23 March 2018Murder of his partner's disabled grandfather, stabbing him and beating him with a marble statue.Serving time. In January 2019, the Supreme Court quashed the sentence on a technicality due to the way in which the victim's disability was handled as an aggravating factor, and Díaz was instead sentenced to 24 years in prison.3 Daniel MontañoN/A Vitoria-Gasteiz26 September 2018Murder of a 17-month-old girl.Serving time.4 Marcos Miras42 A Coruña17 October 2018Murder of his 11-year-old son.Serving time. First conviction by a jury.5 Patrick Nogueira19 Pioz15 November 2018Murder of his uncle, his aunt and his two infant cousins.Serving time. First non-Spanish person to be sentenced to permanent revisable prison.6 Pablo Catalán42 Castellar del Vallès7 March 2019Murder and rape of a 44-year-old woman. Serving time.7 Francisco Salvador31 Huércal de Almería7 April 2019Murder and rape of his 34-year-old partner.Serving time.8 Enrique Romay Reina33 Pilas24 April 2019Rape attempt and murder of a 50-year-old woman.Serving time.9 José Rafael García Santana38 Mora8 May 2019Murder of his disabled 40-year-old wife. Serving time. The sentence was annulled due to a lack of substantiation by the jury. In September 2020, a new trial sentenced García Santana to 23 years in prison.10 Roberto HernándezN/A Valladolid5 June 2019Murder of his partner's 4-year-old daughter.Serving time.11 Ana Julia Quezada44 Níjar30 September 2019Murder of Gabriel Cruz, her partner's 8-year-old son. Serving time. First woman to be sentenced to a permanent revisable prison.12 Mounir Ayad33 Alcobendas6 November 2019Murder of his 30-year-old partner and her 11-year-old son. Serving time.13 José Enrique Abuín Gey aka El Chicle41 A Pobra do Caramiñal17 December 2019Murder of Diana Quer, an 18-year-old girl vacationing in the area. Serving time.14 Ada de la Torre38 Bilbao27 December 2019Murder of her 9-year-old daughter.Serving time.15 Gonzalo Sánchez57 Santa Cruz de Tenerife14 February 2020Murder of his disabled 60-year-old aunt and partner.Serving time.16 Rubén Mañó Simón20 Chella12 August 2020Rape and murder of his 15-year-old female friend.Serving time.17 Antonio Pérez Vázquez31 Elche30 September 2020Abuse and murder of his partner's 2-year-old son.Serving time. First sentence for a couple. In April 2021, the sentence was quashed by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Valencian Community on the basis of premeditation not being proven; the parents had taken the boy to hospital, where he later died. They were instead each sentenced to 20 years for causing his death, plus three years for cruelty.18 Cristina Jiménez Moraleda 28Failure to render assistance by not intervening to prevent the murder of her 2-year-old son committed by her partner.19 Iván Pardo Pena35 Sabiñánigo7 October 2020Abuse and murder of his 8-year-old niece.Serving time.20 Alejandra García Peregrino30 Elda25 November 2020Murder of her partner's 8-year-old foster son.Serving time.21 Ana María Baños38 Almería9 April 2021Murder of her 7-year-old son.Serving time.22 Norbert Feher aka Igor el Ruso40 Andorra29 April 2021Murder of 39-year-old rancher José Luis Iranzo and two civil guards: 30-year-old Víctor Romero and 38-year-old Víctor Jesús Caballero.Serving time. First person to be also sentenced to life imprisonment in another country (Italy).23 Silvia Acebal Martínez30 Gijón27 May 2021Murder of her newborn baby.Serving time. Youngest victim.24 Francisco Javier Martínez Broch43 Alicante1 June 2021Murder of his parents and brother.Serving time.25 Juan Francisco López Ortiz46 Vilanova i la Geltrú8 June 2021Kidnap, rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl.Serving time.26 Juan Carlos Jiménez JiménezN/A Cáseda16 June 2021Murder of a 51-year-old man and his two 29- and 16-year-old sons.Serving time. First sentence for two members of the same family (father and son).27 Emilio Jiménez Jiménez N/A28 Irene Torres TorresN/A La Matanza de Acentejo4 October 2021Abuse and murder of her 5-month-old daughter.Serving time.29 Joey Lee Mederos Martín N/AFailure to render assistance by not intervening to prevent his partner from abusing and murdering her 5-month-old daughter.30 Bernardo Montoya50 El Campillo10 December 2021Rape and murder of a 26-year-old woman.Serving time. First person to have already been sentenced for murder before.31 Anonymous man31 Sant Vicent del Raspeig5 January 2022Murder of his 63-year-old mother and attempted murder of his father.Serving time. 32 Thomas Handrick46 Adeje17 February 2022Murder of his 39-year-old wife and his 10-year-old son. Attempted murder of his 7-year-old son.Serving time. 33 Ana Sandamil45 Cospeito20 February 2022Murder of her 7-year-old daughter.Serving time. 34 Marian C.N/A Jerez9 March 2022Murder of his wife.Serving time. 35 Adriana Ugueto40 Logroño14 March 2022Murder of her 5-year-old daughter.Serving time.36 Mariano Daniel Vásquez34 Viladecans1 April 2022Failure to render assistance to his 36-year-old partner, filming her during a metabolic crisis caused by her type 1 diabetes.https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/baix-llobregat/20220401/8171115/condenado-prision-permanente-dejar-morir-novia-grabar-agonia.htmlServing time.37 Ginés S. A.45 Elche19 October 2022Murder of his partner's 7-month-old son.Serving time.38 Adrián González Sisa aka El Plátano18 Madrid9 December 2022Murder of a 17-year-old rival of a rival gang.Serving time. Youngest person sentenced to permanent revisable imprisonment.39 José Luis Abet Lafuente44 Valga24 March 2023Murder of his 39-year-old ex-wife, as well as his former mother-in-law and sister-in-law.Serving time.40 Francisco Javier Almeida López de Castro54 Lardero18 April 2023Sexual abuse and murder of a 9-year-old boy.Serving time.41 Igor Postolache31 Oviedo28 April 2023Murder of a 14-year-old girl.Committed suicide in prison on 9 August 2023.42 Andrés Gómez S.42 Albacete18 July 2023Murder of a 51-year-old disabled woman.Serving time.43 Adrián Negrut23 Estepa24 November 2023Murder of a 17-year-old girl with whom he had a baby.Serving time.44 Beatriu Friginal40 Godelleta31 January 2024Murder of her paraplegic 45-year-old husband.Serving time.45 José Antonio A. C.47 Sueca1 February 2024Murder of his 11-year-old son.Serving time.46 Héctor James T. G.58 Xàbia28 February 2024Murder of the 96-year-old owner of the house where he lived and worked.Serving time. Oldest person sentenced to permanent revisable imprisonment. Oldest victim.47 Eugenio Delgado28 Monesterio27 May 2024Rape and murder of a 42-year-old woman.Serving time.48 Cristina Rivas36 Sant Joan Despí29 May 2024Murder of her 4-year-old daughter.Serving time.49 Pedro Antonio Guevara Tovar aka El Margarito34 Lorca29 May 2024Murder and rape of a 51-year-old woman.Serving time.50 José del Carmen R. F.52 Almonacid de Toledo7 June 2024Murder of his 42-year-old ex-wife.Serving time.51 Santiago Cepeda Quintela31 Santiago de Compostela13 June 2024Murder of his 3-year-old nephew.Serving time.52 Nazzaryn Navarro Núñez23 Alcalá la Real4 July 2024Rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl.Serving time.53 David Soler aka El Tuvi30 Carcaixent15 December 2024Abuse, torture and murder of a 19-year-old girl.Serving time.54 Marcos F.36 Barcelona9 January 2025Scam and murder an 81-year-old man and his 80-year-old wife.Serving time. First double permanent revisable imprisonment.55 David Maroto López44 Valladolid24 January 2025Murder of his 45-year-old partner and her 8-year-old daughter.Serving time.56 Ali Khouch35 Sa Pobla3 February 2025Murder of his pregnant 28-year-old wife and his 7-year-old son.Serving time.57 José Reñones43 Liaño3 February 2025Murder of his 40-year-old partner and his 11-month-old daughter.Serving time.58 Fernando Peña26 Chiloeches4 March 2026Burglary, arson and murder of a 52-year-old man and his 53-year-old wife, as well as their 22-year-old daughter.Serving time.
References
Sources Reform on Penal Code (full text, Spanish).