Editorials
Thursday, July 3, 1997INCREASED sexual assaults in recent years have been met by a campaign to keep sex offenders in confinement or at least to keep track of where they reside outside of prison so neighbors can be on alert. Hawaii has joined the list of states that allow public access to registries of addresses and job locations of convicted sex offenders. The listing will be worthwhile if it results in prevention of a single sexual assault. But it should not trigger harassment or vigilante actions aimed at further retribution for past offenses. Public tracing of
sex offenders’ addressesAll states now require sex offenders to register their whereabouts, due in large part to public outrage over the 1994 rape and murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka by a convicted pedophile in New Jersey. Hawaii's Legislature this year enacted a law allowing public access to the registry, which includes the street names, but not the house numbers, of the homes of about 500 convicted sex offenders, along with their job locations.
Concerns about possible repeat offenses are justified. According to the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, 19.5 percent of rapists are arrested for a new crime within three years of their release from prison. However, the recidivism for all violent offenders is much worse -- 41 percent arrested for new felonies.
Sexual assailants are more likely than other violent offenders to possess psychological abnormalities that can be treated, and treatment should be available in prisons as well as mental institutions. A 1991 study of 600 men treated at a Baltimore clinic found that 8 percent repeated their crimes within five years of their treatment. Neighbors could rest easier if they were assured that sex offenders released from prison had been provided psychological help.
WILLIAM H. Ewing, who died Monday in his native Mississippi at 93, was a skillful writer and perceptive editor who worked for the Star-Bulletin for 36 years, rising to the top position of editor in 1960, when Hawaii was just beginning to experience its post-statehood boom. He served as political reporter, Washington correspondent, city editor and managing editor, ending his career as assistant to the publisher. William H. Ewing
THE appointment of Jerry Matsuda as administrator of the Airports Division of the state Transportation Department has raised doubts about the impartiality of the selection process. KITV reported that the qualifications for the position were altered by eliminating the requirement for three years of aviation management experience. Questionable choice
KITV also reported that Matsuda was selected over three other applicants who ranked higher in the preliminary screening for the civil service position. This is legal but questionable when combined with the fact that the qualifications were revised in a manner that appeared to benefit Matsuda.
THEY dedicated the Pacific Ocean Science and Technology Center at the University of Hawaii yesterday, but the facility is far from being a finished product even with a $48 million price tag and a wait of 10 years. Flawed science center
Planning delays and financial problems have plagued the facility from the start, to the point that it has achieved a dubious sort of fame. Someday, we trust, the state and the university will get it right, but they haven't yet.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
