Monday, July 30, 2007

What Does it Take?


Written by Evelyn at Homespun Honolulu

There’s no doubt that crime is a problem across the globe and it continues to increase as populations increase. What then will it take for people to see that a criminal justice system has to maintain a certain degree of reliability – has to provide a certain amount of security for its citizens? Instead of establishing anything like that, the State of Hawaii released what I would call a psychotic pervert hell bent on terrorizing young girls.

Convicted of the senseless and ruthless murder of a 17-year-old girl in 1979, Peter Bailey was sentenced to a minimum of 35 years in prison. Over time his sentence kept being shortened. He was released seven years too early and is now being held for the alleged rape of a juvenile. To top it all off, he is accused of raping her at an Assembly of God church. So, while he’s obviously hell bent on messing with our youngsters, he’s also hell bound!

Honolulu’s prosecuting attorney, Peter Carlisle, was quoted as saying, "We've got a system right now that is exerting pressure on everyone to release people,” said Carlisle during a press conference with reporters. “If you release the wrong people then somebody's going to get hurt and somebody has gotten hurt.” I have the highest respect for Mr. Carlisle but, while I agree with his statement, it still left me scratching my head.

Released because of pressure on the prison system? What?!? Is that because the prison system is overloaded? While I’m sure that it is, I wonder if that is the pressure that the prosecutor is talking about. If it is, I can understand it, but releasing a known felon back into the community is pretty risky business. It gets riskier when you release one that has been incarcerated for a senseless, violent act. Uh, I would say that Bailey was definitely one of “the wrong people!”

So, what does it take? A repeat offense enabled by releasing the wrong guy? I don’t know where the real stupidity crown goes. Is it with the offender who has gotten himself thrown back in jail, or is it with the judicial system of the State that let him loose? You can visit KHON2 News for the full story and some video coverage. Then you can tell me where the stupidity award goes!

Evelyn writes at Homespun Honolulu, trying to find the hidden charms of her city to share with readers who are tired of all the commercial hype.

10 comments:

Maude Lynn said...

Terrible story! Things like that happen far too often. In my state, prison overcrowding is a huge issue. It takes a lot of space to lock up everyone with a joint, after all.

J said...

That is indeed a horrible story. :( I live in California, and here, the prisons are at about double capacity. I say let some folks out who are in for non-violent crimes, but be careful with the violent offenders.

Liz said...

As bad as this story sounds to you guys, to a Canadian, 28 years in jail sounds like a lot. I don't even want to look up the current stats for my country, they are usually so depressing. Does anyone here know?

Anonymous said...

In almost every horrible crime I've heard about lately, the perpetrator had a serious criminal background, and some had been let out early or on parole. Especially sexual crimes.

It's hard to know what to do about this because I want to believe that some criminals can be rehabilitated.

Thanks for spotlighting this!

Anonymous said...

J, I'm inclined to agree with you. We need to NOT release the violent. Liz, I had the same thought but then I thought of the parents and family of the poor girl who was just victimized and I thought, "Nope, not long enough." I'm sure they're thinking the same thing right about now. Mama zen, we all seem to be faced with the same, or at least similar problems. I'm all for leniency and forgiveness, but, at what cost? We need to be more careful.

Anonymous said...

Yep, singforhim, ditto on that! Scary.

Liz said...

Oh, no, Evelyn, I wasn't saying "long enough!" Not by a long shot. I just have a feeling things like this are a little worse in other countries, like Canada. If the system doesn't protect the innocent, it clearly isn't working, no matter how much people want to complain about prison sizes or funding. I'm on board with suitable punishments, as well as public protection.

Maude Lynn said...

Oh, Evelyn, I totally agree that the state must be more careful about who is released! Prison overcrowding is such an issue; if I have to choose between locking up a murdering pervert or a nineteen year old stoner with an ounce of pot, I would much rather lock up the murdering pervert!

The Farmers Wife said...

Releasing violent criminals early because the prisons are full?

It makes my head spin just thinking about the levels of idiocy and bureaucracy that mean that someone like this is released whilst people with lesser crimes are left inside.

If the prisons really are so full that they have to start letting people go then surely they should stop filling them with petty criminals and keep them reserved for those who are a danger to people...

ok, ok, i'm getting off my soap box. Someone help me down? My head is still spinning.

Anonymous said...

What about finding money to build more prisons? This seems more reasonable than letting out of jail sexual offenders. Experience has shown that sexual offenders are far from being easy to rehabilitate...

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