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Inos, Castro sign joint proclamation for Parole and Probation Week
Ex-convict CUC supervisor thankful after being given the opportunity to work and prove himself
Gov. Eloy S. Inos and Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro jointly signed on Friday a proclamation declaring July 13 to 19 as Juvenile & Adult Probation and Parole Supervision Week.
In signing the proclamation at the CNMI Supreme Court, Inos and Castro urged all residents to recognize, honor, and celebrate community corrections officers “for their vital support, services, and protection in our communities and in local, state, national, and international areas.”
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- Gov. Eloy S. Inos and Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro are joined by justices and judges of the Judiciary, probation officers and others for the 14th Annual Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week proclamation signing on July 11, 2014. (JIM STOWELL)
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- Gov. Eloy S. Inos and Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro sign the 14th Annual Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week proclamation. Also pictured are Presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja and Chief Probation Officer Ursula Lifoifoi-Aldan. (JIM STOWELL)
Inos underscored the importance of the work of probation and parole officers in protecting the community by helping probationers and parolees be rehabilitated, return to the community, and live useful lives.
In his keynote speech, Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman said that probation, parole officers, and many others involved in community corrections play an indispensable role in implementing and enforcing those goals so essential to maintaining the rule of law.
Wiseman said these officers must provide guidance in future conduct to persons who have been convicted of crimes, to promote their rehabilitation, and to monitor the restitution to victims, along with other probation terms and conditions.
When a criminal defendant is on probation or parole, he is serving his sentence in the community without being behind bars but under restrictive standards and under the watchful and supervising eyes of the probation and parole officers, Wiseman said.
“The criminal justice system could not function properly without these and other community correction professionals,” he added.
At the ceremony, Victor Flores, an ex-convict, talked about his life after serving in prison for eight years for sexual assault in the first degree in Hawaii.
Flores said he came home and was very thankful to the Board of Parole for giving him the opportunity to prove himself.
Flores said he honors the trust afforded him and that he is now a supervisor at the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
“This is a great opportunity for me,” Flores said. “It’s been a tremendous journey.”
