Guam Signs International Prisoner Transfer Bill Into Law.
/By: Otis Aisek
Guam Governor signs into law a bill that allows the transfer of, "...those serving sentences on Guam to their home of origin". While this may be great for Guam, it may be harmful to other countries such as the FSM. According to Guam Vice-Speaker, BJ Cruz in a report from the Pacific News Center: FAS (Freely Associated States) citizens make up, "...one third of [Guam's] prison population".
( Senator Sam Mabini of Guam is the writer of the Bill now signed into law.)
The FSM already has problems handling their citizens being deported from outside countries. In a Fourth Branch interview with the honorable FSM Supreme Court Associate Justice Dennis Yamase, he stated that, "[t]here's no formal system of telling us… we don't know anything about [our] deportees". He continued by stating, "I can't confirm this, but I think several of the people who were deported [back to FSM] have subsequently gotten into trouble with the law."
(Provided is our interview with Judge Yamase, skip to 12:20 to hear his comments about deportees.)
In the case of Chuuk State, Chuuk Governor Johnson Elimo plainly stated in an article posted in March 2012 by the Pacific Islands Report that, "Chuuk [doesn't have] a prison". The FSM should expect an increase in convicted criminals being "transferred" from Guam to their respective home states. So the question arises: will the FSM be prepared? When in the case of Chuuk, they don't even have a prison.
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Sources:
1. Pacific Daily News. "Gov. Calvo signs international prisoner transfer program into law", 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Sept. 2012.
2. Stair, Florence. Pacific Islands Report. "Chuuk Governor Visits Troubled Youth in Guam", 19 Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Sept. 2012.
3. Ridgell, Clynt. Pacific News Center. "Senators Propose, Encourage, Deportation of FAS Citizens Doing Time at DOC", 14 Sept. 2011. Web. 11 Sept. 2012.