Justice served

A big “Si Yu’us Ma’ase” goes out to the jurors and the witnesses who stood up to and spoke up about what is right. You didn’t let the title of “lieutenant governor” or the family name supersede the right to justice. You are all brave individuals who have brought hope and belief back to the islands and its justice system. You all did a brave thing by speaking the truth when called as a witness and you did a brave thing by making an informed educated decision to pronounce the “guilty” verdict.

Now if only our elected officials would see the truth. Governor and Senate President, why are you offering your sympathy and condolences to people who have stolen from me, you, and all CUC-paying customers of the CNMI? If these individuals had literally entered our homes and stolen our televisions, computers, cars, etc., I hope you would want “justice served.” Well, these people did enter our homes and took from us our hard-earned money that went to pay our CUC bills. These people left us in the dark on many a night (literally and figuratively) when it was too hot to get any rest, when we were afraid to buy frozen meats because we didn’t know if the icebox was going to be on or off, when we were afraid to sleep in fear our oxygen supply would be cut off, when our disabled child or our man’amko with Alzheimer’s repeatedly cried “I’m hot” (not comprehending that nothing could be done about the power outage). Please don’t let me read how sorry you are for the families and the children of those convicted. They weren’t thinking about their children (or our children) when they were stealing from the public, and violating our trust. If they had had their children’s best interest in mind, they would have strived to make them proud by being honest and trustworthy. I don’t hear sympathy being publicized to those families whose unemployed family member made the choice to rob the poker parlor or burglarize a store. Those children and families suffered too. Again it comes down to the choices every individual makes. No, nobody is perfect but “to ourselves we must be true.” And we must be cognizant that our choices—right or wrong—impact those around us.

In closing, kudos again to those witnesses and jurors that made a choice to do what is right and just.