Governor gets power to pardon convicted felons

Governor Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday signed into law Senate Bill 12-102 which allows the highest official of the Commonwealth the power to pardon and exonerate a convicted felon.

The new law gives the governor the full capacity to grant pardon in accordance with the Crimes and Criminal Procedures under the Commonwealth Code.

Mr. Tenorio commended the Legislature for the timely and needed changes in an existing law, pointing out that this expeditiously clarified certain provisions, as well as improved current statutes governing the Board of Parole.

SB 12-102, which is now Public Law 12-41, grants the Commonwealth governor and the Board of Parole a wider elbow room to discharge mandates stipulated under the existing law.

Under the law, the governor may grant an absolute pardon which frees a person without any conditions, terminates any punishment and exonerates the person from any guilt or conviction, while a conditional pardon depends on performance of some act by the person for its validity and the partial pardon which remits only a portion of the punishment.

The amendments also give the governor the authority to absolve the person from a portion of the legal consequence and restores one or more of the individual’s civil liberties after conviction.

However, the power of the governor and the Board of Parole is restricted by certain exemptions. For example, a person convicted of a crime for which a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment has been provided pursuant to the existing statute shall not be eligible for the parole until the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment has been served.

The new law also stipulated that a felon whose eligibility for parole was restricted by the sentencing court shall not be eligible for parole during the period of restriction.

Parole will also not be accorded to a person charged civilly and criminally and committed for the purpose of receiving treatment for mental illness, disease or defect, after an adjudication of guilt.

In addition, those sentenced to serve the life imprisonment shall not be eligible for parole until a term of at least 30 years has been served.

Despite the absolute power of the governor and the Board of Parole, the Legislature put in place a safety net to prevent irresponsible granting of parole by allowing the board to revoke any recommendations for pardon if violations has been clearly identified.

The amendments will result in greater fairness and efficiency in the Board operating procedures which will effectively address issues that might arise in the future.

“The changes in this bill will result in greater consistency, uniformity, and fairness to parolees as well as increased confidence in the ability of the Board of Parole to protect the CNMI citizens,” the law reads.

Amendments on 6 CMC Section 4202 also include possible removal of a member from the board and the conduct of parole hearings and meeting, and the conditions to be imposed upon parolees for the revocation of parole and re-parole after revocation. (EGA)