A SYSTEMIC FAILURE

Sixty-six arrests. Twenty-three convictions. Nine felonies.

Three children, ages 2, 4 and 7, with another on the way.

And now, 10 years in prison.

It doesn't take a mathematician to crunch these numbers and figure
out that something went very, very wrong.

The story of Ashlee Pasion Rita is a sad one. We believe it could and
should have been averted.

Fifth Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe on Jan. 6 sentenced the
27-year-old mother of three to 10 years in prison for numerous drug
and property crimes.

In April, as police executed a search warrant, Rita exited her house
holding a toddler in her arms with an ice pipe in her waistband.
Inside, officers found a loaded .22 caliber handgun between the
cushions of the living-room couch.

The incident was the latest in a long line of dangerous behavior for Rita.

Her criminal history included numerous arrests and convictions,
including one case in which she was convicted of seven felony counts
of forgery, a felony count of theft, and one felony count of burglary.

Where did things go off the rails?

Obviously, Rita deserves the lion's share of the blame for her
current situation, but as a society we can do better to help those in
our families and neighborhoods who are struggling.

The large disparity between the number of arrests - 66 - and
convictions - 23 - makes us question the proliferation of plea
bargains in recent years as convictions are traded for dropped charges.

It makes us question if the Kaua'i Police Department had picked Rita
up on charges that didn't stick, and makes us wonder if KPD and
prosecutors have huddled enough on these cases. We may never know.

The lenient sentences Rita had received - she was facing 100 years in
prison in the burglary case and, despite the serious charges, was
sentenced to only 74 days in jail - makes us wonder if she might have
learned her lesson with some stricter discipline from the state.

Judges may have been swayed by her young children's need for their
mother or other circumstances surrounding her behavior. But those
children - and the community - would likely have been better served
if the court had issued a lengthier prison term as a deterrent.

On probation, Rita failed numerous drug tests and got kicked out of
four different drug-treatment programs, but there's no evidence that
her probation was ever revoked. What is the point of probation if its
terms are not enforced?

Enforcement - whether it be by KPD, prosecutors, judges, parole
boards or probation officers - is only half of the equation. In this
problem, treatment is other half.

The American Medical Association has described drug addiction as a
brain disease worthy of medical treatment, and the issue has begun to
gain traction here on Kaua'i.

The Kaua'i Community Response Drug Plan 2008-2013 states that 80 to
90 percent of all crimes committed on Kaua'i are drug-related, and
that more than 1,500 individuals on probation, parole, drug court or
awaiting sentencing "need help to re-integrate into the community,
but there are gaps in the continuum of care needed."

We agree and we are counting on Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. to make
good on one of his yet-to-be-fulfilled campaign pledges to find a
site for an adolescent, residential drug-abuse treatment center on the island.

We know times are tight and the county is worried about making ends
meet as the state Legislature ponders yanking the counties' shares of
the hotel tax, but the drug treatment center should be a top priority
and would pay dividends.

Earlier this month, Carvalho's testimony at a joint hearing of the
House Finance and Senate Ways and Means committees included a request
for state funding for the reconstruction and protection of 'Aliomanu
Road; improvements to the Kapa'a new park; open space/park land
acquisition; and the development of the Kilauea agricultural park.

Helping our citizens get off drugs is more important than any of
those ventures. It's past time for the county to get moving on a drug
treatment center.

The lack of on-island treatment centers separates adults and youth
from "critical support networks" like family and friends during
difficult times, according to the drug plan, and there are often
waiting lists to get into facilities on O'ahu. Our citizens deserve better.

While Rita's story is particularly heart-wrenching, it is hardly
unique. Millions of young men and women in this country have trouble
with drugs, and our society has failed to get them the help that they need.

So while we condemn Rita's reckless behavior and hope that the
lengthy prison sentence she is about to begin can help her get her
life back on the right track, we also hope her story touches leaders
in our community and serves as a call to action to do whatever it
takes to improve the lives of all Kauaians.