By Gina Tabonares
Variety News Staff

THE case filed by a prisoner against 11 government officials proceeds after the district court granted the petitioner’s request.
Alexander Kitano’s civil case against Gov. Felix P. Camacho, former Gov. Carl T.C. Gutierrez and past and present jail officers, was stalled because the prisoner needed to pay the filing fee of $350.
Kitano, who is currently serving a life sentence in a penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, is asking for a jury trial. He is alleging that his civil rights were violated because he was denied release on parole and was not given a chance to personally appear and present documents before the Guam Territorial Parole Board upon his eligibility.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment on June 26, 1987 after entering a guilty plea for murder offense. He is eligible for parole after serving 15 years.
The U.S. District Court of Guam will proceed with his case in forma pauperis, a term used for filers who are so poor that they cannot bear the charges of suing at law or in equity.
In the case of Kitano, he consented through a prisoner’s consent form the collection of the filing fee, as well as any other fees, costs or sanctions from his trust account.
The court directs that an initial partial fee of $76.23 be withheld from Kitano’s trust account.
In his motion for preliminary action, Kitano asked the District Court of Guam to compel the incumbent and past government officials to perform their duties as stated in the U.S. Constitution.
According to the prisoner, for almost four years, the defendants failed to provide his statutory rights which have always been provided to the inmates in the Mangilao facility.
He asked for a meaningful and adequate parole board meeting by returning him to the jurisdiction of the Guam territorial board.
Under the law, the Guam Territorial Parole Board is responsible for releasing or denying parole and should afford opportunity to inmates to personally appear and present documents upon eligibility on the prisoners’ sentence or after a greater time set by the sentencing court.
Besides Camacho and Gutierrez, the other defendants in the case are GTPB’s Jose Salas, Soledad Chargualaf, and Connie Duenas, as well as Department of Corrections director Robert Camacho, Francisco Marion, Edward Flores, former Guam Police Department chief and now Sen. Frank Ishizaki, Francisca Santos, Eustaquio Punzalan, Jesus Rivera, Angel Sablan and several John Does.