How many second chances do you give someone before realizing he is beyond rehabilitation? How many residents will you let him rob, how many families will you let him destroy, how many communities will you let him wreck before coming
How many second chances do you give someone before realizing he is beyond rehabilitation?
How many residents will you let him rob, how many families will you let him destroy, how many communities will you let him wreck before coming to terms with the reality of the situation?
If he truly is guilty, an old cliché fits in the instance of Vicente Hilario: Lock him up and throw away the key.
Vinnie has made one bad decision after another in his young life. While we underscore that he — like all citizens charged with a crime — is innocent until proven guilty, Hilario’s prior arrest record is enough for us to want him and similar repeat offenders off the streets for a long time consistent with his long criminal history.
Now the 24-year-old Anahola man is facing first-degree murder charges for the shooting death of Aureo Moore, 34, of Kapa‘a.
In a more perfect world — a world with judges not afraid to hand down appropriate and just sentences — this gruesome day would never have happened. Both of them would have already been behind bars serving hard time for multiple drug and robbery charges over the past few years.
Instead, Moore is dead and, if convicted, Hilario’s life is over too.
We as a community must stand up against the plagues on society. Recent polls have revealed the vast majority of residents on Kaua‘i know of someone who deals or uses drugs in their neighborhood.
So why do we sit quietly wishing the problem would solve itself?
Our men and women in blue are limited in their capacity to root out all these criminals but have clearly done they’re job in this instance. They need judges and DAs to do their part. No plea bargains and no irresponsibly lenient sentences.
Let’s give local law enforcement a hand in cleaning this island up before another person falls victim to crime.
We can’t simply shrug our shoulders as stray bullets fly in county beach parks and shopping center parking lots like they have over the past few months.
We urge judges to throw the book at repeat offenders before they have a chance to do more damage than they already have.
We also give our support, for what it’s worth, to the county prosecutor’s office who will be handling the Hilario case.
If found guilty, we hope stiff penalties are sought and handed down.
We are well aware that our prisons are crowded and the cost of incarceration is exorbitant, but we believe the price is worth the peace of mind in knowing society’s worst are being dealt with appropriately.
In the meantime, let’s get moving on the other critical components to creating a healthier community. Among the top of the list is siting a drug treatment center on Kaua‘i, which the mayor has said he intends to do within the next few weeks.
We owe it to our neighbors to provide them an opportunity to clean up and be a productive member of society. In the end, this is more cost-effective than long-term incarceration and provides for a more civilized society.
As your community newspaper, we will continue to shine a light on these troubling incidents with the hope that increased awareness puts more public pressure on the officials who can implement the necessary changes.
No more fourth, fifth and sixth chances for those individuals incapable of following the law and a basic code of common decency. We simply can’t afford to continue to irresponsibly hand down light sentences for heavy crimes.
