A young girl is walking to school one fine morning and a group of thugs kidnap her, beat her unconscious, rape her, and leave her for dead. She staggers home and reports that she had been raped. Attorney General Ed Buckingham and his team of prosecutors had six months to build a case against these lowlife scumbags. Unfortunately the prosecutors fell short on building the case because the thugs charged with kidnapping and raping this young girl are now free to roam Saipan once again. This young child will probably see her attackers in her neighborhood, or at a store, or somewhere on our tiny island. How traumatic will this be for this poor girl? And what about the animals who raped her? Perhaps next time they will kill their victim.
A man is sent to prison for murder. His sentence is commuted and he’s released from prison for “compassionate reasons.” While out, the convicted murderer molests a child. If this murderer were never released early and were still in prison, he would have never had an opportunity to do something so despicable.
These are only three of the scores of cases where criminals either go free or get a tap on the wrist (I said “tap” because “slap” appears to be too harsh). Our judicial system has become a joke here in our islands. Prisoners commit crimes and if in the rare chance they actually go to prison, they are pampered in a state-of-the-art, air-conditioned prison facility that is in better shape than any of our schools. Their food is excellent. They have a work-out room. They get to read books and watch TV. I’m beginning to wonder if this is a prison or the YMCA? Perhaps a lot of people are committing crimes in hopes of getting in! Why not? It certainly beats living homeless and hungry.
What is going on in our community? Do criminals have more rights than victims of crimes? Whatever happened to retribution? Whatever happened to “If you do the crime, you do the time”? Is there really a point to having courts, judges, and an Attorney General’s Office when criminals are rarely punished and put behind bars for a reasonable amount of time?
Our local system of justice is in dire need of change. Perhaps we should just legalize crime. MVA has been told to diversify its tourist market. Now MVA can target career criminals to boost our tourism numbers. Potential slogans? “What crime you commit on Saipan stays on Saipan” or “Crime Pays in the CNMI!” And as far as saving money? We’d save millions annually if we closed down the “Guma Hustisia” and our AG’s Office and the Public Defender’s Office.
If this sounds much too radical, then here are a few alternate suggestions:
• Elect an attorney general. I’ve heard all the arguments against electing an AG, such as “If our people elect lousy leaders, they will elect a lousy AG.” Their arguments have some merit, considering some of the yahoos we’ve elected over the years. But I can tell you, the most important reason why we must elect our AG is so that we have an AG who is removed from the governor’s grasp. Throughout commonwealth history, the AG has been appointed by the governor, and the AG more often than not ends up being a political puppet who must answer to the governor. If we elect an AG, s/he will have to answer to you, me, and Juan Q. Publiku instead! And if s/he ends up being a lousy AG? Then we fire him or her or elect another AG in the next election. How do we attract good candidates for an elected AG? Strict requirements and an attractive salary. Anything is better than our current system, and electing an AG will most importantly mean that the AG will no longer have to bow down to the governor. And this means the AG will actually be able to PROSECUTE the governor and all public officials if they break the law. Now, wouldn’t that be special?
• Special prosecutor for OPA. The Office of the Public Auditor has no teeth. OPA conducts its audits, submits evidence to the AG’s Office, and that’s the end of it. OPA should have a special prosecutor who can go after white-collar criminals. OPA has discovered millions of dollars that are owed back to the CNMI by government employees and public officials who misspent, abused, or flat out stole from taxpayers. How much has the AG’s Office gotten back so far? I’d bet all the Spam on Saipan it is a mere pittance, if anything at all. A special prosecutor working at OPA will be able to use the information uncovered by the OPA and go after these crooks.
• Three-strikes rule. Why do we see the same criminals in court time and time again? Because they are constantly being released from prison to commit more crimes. Let’s keep career criminals where they belong — behind bars. Criminals who commit three felonies must face mandatory prison sentences. That way there will be no plea bargaining or weak prison sentences of “ten years in jail, all suspended with credit for time served.” Hello? Lawmakers? Can one of you work on putting this into law?
I have no love for violent scumbags who prey on innocent victims and I have no patience for politics in our justice system. We are fortunate we have a very patient community, because in other places in the world, we would see widespread vigilantism. We take pride in having a mostly peaceful community, but with crime at an all-time high, we must protect ourselves. The bars on our homes and the multiple locks on our doors and the boonie dogs in our yards are not enough to keep us safe, because we eventually have to leave our homes. The more we have criminals roaming the streets, the more chances we have of becoming victims. Short of arming ourselves with guns and blowing thugs away, it is time we rally together and demand justice.
To the scumbags of the CNMI who believe it is okay to use your wife and children as a punching bag, or kidnap and rape a child, or sell crystal meth to our students, or murder someone because they looked at you wrong, or steal and burglarize people’s homes because you are too lazy to work, I want you to know that God is not sleeping. One day, when your insignificant, wasted life ends here on earth, and you’re begging to get in to the Gates of Heaven, I hope and pray Saint Peter will look at the long list of crimes you committed and the pain and suffering you caused, and say to you only two words: “Adios Muchacho!”
May God bless the law-abiding community members of the commonwealth.
ED PROPST
Dandan, Saipan
