Aguilar asks for reconsideration on his sentence

Larry Banal Aguilar, who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend, is asking the Superior Court to reconsider his 50-year prison term to make him eligible for parole.

The sentence imposed on Aguilar by associate judge Ramona Manglona makes it the longest prison term ever imposed by a CNMI court in a domestic violence case.

Manglona sentenced Aguilar last Nov. 9, 2004, to 50 years in prison without the possibility of parole, after he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the killing of his ex-girlfriend, Leonor Salunga Miranda, on July 14, 2003.

Aguilar attacked Miranda with an air pistol and a machete. He shot the victim in the head and hacked her several times, nearly cutting off one of her hands.

Without parole, the 38-year-old Aguilar could only be released from incarceration when he reaches 88, his attorney, public defender Masood Karimipour, pointed out.

Karimipour noted that Aguilar’s age by that time would even exceed the average life expectancy of an American male, 74.63 years. The average life expectancy of a Filipino male like Aguilar is 66.74 years, he said.

“Therefore, the court can reasonably infer that Mr. Aguilar will surely die in prison. He will never survive in prison…to work and pay restitution. And even if he did survive 22 years beyond most his compatriots, at the age of 88, he will likely not be an able-bodied man, will have no marketable skills, and may well need someone to care after him and be a burden,” Karimipour said.

Karimipour asked the court that Aguilar be granted parole eligibility, which would mean that the defendant would serve at least 16 years and four months in prison before becoming eligible for parole consideration.

“He may well be denied release on parole then. But even assuming he is released on parole on his first application, he will be 54 years old in the year 2020. At that time, he will still be able to work to pay restitution,” the public defender said.

Miranda’s family is claiming some $14,963 in restitution from Aguilar.

Karimipour said that the community could make good use of Aguilar by allowing the defendant to participate in community service and rehabilitation programs of the government.

“Mr. Aguilar has a powerful message to deliver and has high value in the therapeutic process and potential to help deter others from abusing their family,” he said.

CNMI chief prosecutor David Hutton conceded that the public defender makes a sound argument, but said that he would oppose it.

“Due to the brutality and heinousness of the crime, as well as on behalf of Miranda’s six-year-old daughter who cannot advocate on her own, we feel that this is a case that warrants life sentence,” Hutton said.

Miranda’s daughter witnessed the brutal killing of her mother by Aguilar.