THE CNMI Board of Parole on Friday granted the parole application of Edward I. Blas, a convicted murderer, but denied the parole application of Edward T. Sablan who is serving time for sexual assault in the second degree.
According to Parole Officer Jason Lizama, “Whatever decision the Board makes on the inmates that are granted parole, the Board of Parole officers will continue to do their job to ensure that the community is safe by supervising and closely monitoring each active parolee in the CNMI.”
Any minor infraction will result in the parolee’s arrest, Lizama added.
“Most importantly, we have a strong partnership with the Hope Recovery Center and the Community Guidance Center to assist our parolees to successfully reintegrate into our community,” he said.
The Office of the Attorney General, through Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds, was strongly opposed to the granting of parole for Blas and Sablan.
Blas pled guilty to murder in the first degree committed during the perpetration of burglary and/or robbery, and was sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment.
He became eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence.
Hinds noted that Blas, before pleading guilty to murder in the first degree, already had an extremely long criminal history as a juvenile.
“Nothing seemed to work. We believe that the inmate is not suitable for parole. These types of crimes, along with the inmate’s criminal history, should be a strong aggravating factor during the parole decision. Therefore, the Commonwealth expresses its continued concern in granting inmate Blas any form of early release,” Hinds said.
Blas, he added, took a piece of metal rebar and repeatedly hit the head of a school security guard, just so he could steal property at the school and buy marijuana.
“There is simply nothing mitigating about this heinous crime for brutally beating a sleeping man to death. Applicant made a deliberate decision to commit such a cruel attack on a defenseless person just for a few dollars to buy drugs,” Hinds said.
As for Sablan, Hinds said the Office of the AG opposes a finding of suitability and grant of parole because the inmate’s sentence was already lenient to begin with, considering that his crime was sexual assault in the second degree, which carried a maximum sentence of 15 years.
“The defendant [pled] guilty to the offense of sexual assault in the second degree, and was sentenced to serve five years, all suspended except for two years and shall be released on Feb. 26, 2023…. We must highly consider the protection of the people, most especially his victim and her rights. With only nine months remaining for incarceration, we must all be reminded of the unbearable long-term effects that this traumatic ordeal has placed on his victim. The victim will carry this experience over her lifetime for the rest of her life,” Hinds said.
Sablan serving his full maximum possible sentence as penalty for such an invasive crime is in the best interest of the victim and her family, the community, and for the Commonwealth, the chief prosecutor added.
“As a reminder, the law was passed by the people to send a strong message to offenders. Offenders of sexual assault are therefore sentenced to go to jail for a very long period of time. Serving his sentence shorter than the two years he was sentenced to will definitely not represent a very long period of time, nor does it serve the ends of justice,” Hinds said.
