HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Attorney General Douglas Moylan isn’t keen on changing his “tough on crime” policies, despite a large influx of prison inmates since the start of his term this year.
On April 25, the Department of Corrections appeared before the 37th Guam Legislature for a roundtable hearing. The agency reported that since the start of the year, the total population in the Mangilao and Hagåtña facilities has risen from 680 to 820 inmates.
While DOC Maj. Antone Aguon said the rise was attributed to multiple reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic winding down and courts processing more defendants, Aguon also referred to Moylan’s new policies.
“So, it’s safe to say that the toughest AG contributed to the rise from 680 to 820?” Sen. Jesse Lujan asked Aguon.
“(Moylan) kept his promise,” Aguon responded, adding he pleaded with the AG’s office to look at its policies in light of the detainee population.
At the start of Moylan’s term in January, he began implementing a policy requesting that judges keep defendants confined at DOC on a cash bail amount, especially for defendants accused of drug possession, who in the past had been released on personal recognizance bonds.
Moylan responds
A couple of days after the roundtable hearing, Moylan told The Guam Daily Post the AG’s office has to stay in its lane.
“Our job is primarily to ensure the public safety and that the criminal laws are being enforced. This issue about what may be going on in the Department of Corrections is under the governor’s responsibility, as well as the Legislature, to provide sufficient space and conditions for the inmates that the court system places there,” Moylan said.
“It would not be appropriate to reduce the population of inmates if those individuals are a danger to the community,” Moylan said.
He explained the new practices are to ensure defendants don’t commit more crimes and create a “catch and release” cycle. Moylan said he wants to help DOC “as much as possible,” but he said releasing detainees is not the answer.
“Releasing people that shouldn’t be in the community is nonnegotiable from the AG’s office perspective because to do so creates more crime victims,” Moylan said.
Deportation
Prior to Moylan being sworn into office, he addressed the overcrowding issue when he was invited as a guest speaker for the Rotary Club of Guam. He said a solution would be to deport foreign criminals.
Moylan said, since starting as the AG, he has been coordinating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and instructed his staff to start identifying defendants who are potential candidates for deportation.
A problem he is facing is balancing the wishes of the victims of the crime. He cited the case of Janus Tabbada, who pleaded guilty this year to a November shooting and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 15 years.
“(Tabbada) is specifically a green card holder and ICE has told our office that once he is released, he’s going to be deported back to the Philippines. But the victim’s brother was adamant he not be released, so I have to temper those types of cases,” said Moylan.
“This is an additional service that I’m willing to do, … but I cannot lose sight of the main goal.”
Douglas Moylan
