The extremely legalistic legal traditions still maintained in the Colombian criminal process underpin judges' and prevent the application of sources of law that emanate from the Constitution, conventional norms, and precedents of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Given that legislative policies restrict the benefits of sentencing, an effort must be made to advance in a judicial interpretation more in line with the humanization of the process. Thus, this article examines the range of norms and precedents available to the criminal judge to achieve the ends of justice in the judicial decision, while promoting a change in the massive violation of the rights of persons deprived of liberty. © 2021 Escuela Militar de Cadetes. All rights reserved.