There is no statute of limitations

The former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet has been charged in the disappearance of nine people and the murder of one, and placed under house arrest pending trial, the BBC reports. Judge Juan Guzmán has also determined that Pinochet is mentally fit to stand trial, reversing previous findings by Chilean and British courts. Other charges remain pending against him.

The decision has been welcomed by Chilean human rights organisations for obvious reasons. Of course, it also has implications elsewhere in the world for aging killers seeking to wait out the charges against them. Pinochet has been relying on the fact that as time goes by, his memory and physical condition deteriorate. As time goes by, the willingness of his former associates to stand between him and justice deteriorates too.