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Despite plea for leniency —“I want to go home…” Inmate to serve additional 5 years straight

Terriorial Corectional Facility (TCF)
He tried to escape — 3 times
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — An inmate who escaped from the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) three times was sentenced by the High Court to serve an additional 5 years behind bars.

Logoitinomatagilelei Amituana’i appeared before Chief Justice Michael Kruse last week for sentencing. He was represented by Assistant Public Defender Rob McNeill, while prosecuting was Assistant  Attorney General Laura Garvey.

Amituana’i was charged in three separate cases. In each case, he was charged with one count of escape from confinement, a class D felony, punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.

However, under a plea agreement with the government, accepted by the court last month, Amituana’i pled guilty to one count of escape from confinement. In return, the remaining charges were dismissed.

With his guilty plea, Amituana’i admits that on July 15, 2018 while serving time at the TCF, he escaped from confinement.

At sentencing, Amituana’i apologized and begged for a second chance to return home to care for his parents.

“I feel I made a mistake and I am truly remorseful for what I did. I want to go home to care for my parents while they’re still alive. I don’t want to stay in prison. Please Kruse, grant me one more chance to prove myself,” Amituana’i pleaded.

He told the court that he has wasted so many years of his life in prison and he has realized that he’s getting old while in custody. “There are many reasons why I escaped from confinement, but I know that these will not help if I share it with the court. All I want is another second chance for me to be with my family.”

“In the past 5 years, we were able to eat well and received everything we asked for; but now, the food is not good and we hardly get what we ask for, such as soap, toothpaste, and food. That’s why inmates escape from confinement,” Amituana’i told the court.

He said he’s been trying hard to request the Parole Board for a chance to go home, but his requests have fallen on deaf ears.

“I want to go back home. I want to be with my family and parents but I can’t do anything because the Parole Board doesn’t want to consider my request. I’m truly remorseful for what I did and I don’t want to stay in prison anymore because it’s not a good place to sleep.”

McNeill told the court that despite his client’s criminal history, he believes Amituana’i deserves another chance so he can prove himself. Garvey however opposed the motion, saying Amituana’i disrespected the court’s order by escaping from jail.

Before delivering the sentence, Kruse pointed out that the defendant escaped from theTCF three times, which tells him that Amituana’i is disrespectful of the court’s orders.

Amituana’i was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, a straight sentence.

Kruse said that after the court reviewed the Pre Sentence Report, counsel’s submissions, and the defendant’s statement, the court feels that this is the appropriate sentence for Amituana’i.