GOVERNOR Ralph DLG Torres will not grant clemency to Price Shoiter at this time, Assistant Attorney General Keisha Blaise told the federal court on Thursday afternoon.
Blaise also updated the court about Shoiter’s medical appointment that took place on Nov. 1, and the schedule of his surgery.
Shoiter is a 74-year-old Chuukese national who was sentenced in 2016 to a 10-year prison sentence for sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl. He has sued the Department of Corrections and its former and current officials in federal court, alleging that he was denied adequate medical care.
In February 2021, a settlement agreement was signed by all parties, contingent on the governor’s approval of Shoiter’s application for conditional clemency.
In July 2021, the CNMI Board of Parole recommended clemency for Shoiter.
Last month, Shoiter, through his court-appointed attorney Michael Dotts, asked the federal court to set a deadline and hold a status conference for the defendant.
“If the Governor did not grant the conditional clemency, then pursuant to Section 4.1.3 of the Settlement Agreement, the settlement was ‘null and void’ and the case was to be placed back on track for trial,” Dotts told the court.
On Thursday, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI recommended that the lawyers for the parties meet and confer to discuss a new scheduling order.
She then scheduled a settlement conference for Jan. 6, 2022 at 1:30 p.m.
She said a stipulated proposed scheduling order shall be submitted by the parties no later than Dec. 10, 2021.
