He said the Board of Parole should “exercise discretion sparingly after a thoughtful and careful review of any request for parole or commutation.”
Manibusan, in an e-mail to the Variety, said: “One can be fooled by person’s ability to express himself as in the case of Michael Dodd.”
Manibusan sentenced Dodd in 2002 to five years imprisonment, all suspended except for the first two years, for each of the five counts of sexual abuse of a child.
Manibusan placed Dodd on probation for a period of 15 years, or three years for each count, under the direction and supervision of the Adult Probation Office.
The court also ordered Dodd to pay a total fine of $5,000.
Prior to his criminal conviction, Dodd was hired as a reading specialist for first to third graders at a Saipan public school.
Dodd was paroled on May 15, 2006.
Last year, he was convicted of a sexual abuse charge in Cambodia.
Manibusan said the system of parole and commutation is a function of the executive branch.
“It must do a better job in evaluating a person’s request for parole or commutation,” he added.
“One must wonder whether the parole board ever review the transcript of the court proceeding involving the person requesting parole or commutation,” he added.
Attorney General Edward Buckingham declined to comment, citing client-attorney privilege.
Buckingham is the legal counsel for the Board of Parole.
Manibusan said “the courts are in a better position to judge the person and impose a sentence after taking consideration of the person’s character, the nature of the crime, the policy behind the law, the need to protect society, deter others and whether the person can be rehabilitated.”
However, he added, “the executive branch, by its nature, makes political and financial decisions in any case and this may be true when considering a person’s request for parole or commutation.”
In 2006, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial commuted the sentence of Steven Romei Aguon who was previously convicted for burglary, voluntary manslaughter and escaping from police custody.
Last March, Aguon was arrested for the sexual abuse of two minors.
Also last March, the Board of Parole paroled convicted “ice” trafficker David Tanaka Diaz whose sentence was commuted by the governor.
Tanaka was sentenced to a 25-year jail term without parole.
