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,
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.
