Letters to the Editor: May 9, 2020

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The other side to the inmate release

The state is all of a sudden showing concern for our well-being by releasing inmates from prison in fear they might catch the COVID-19.

Is it fear of the state being sued, or fear of the prisoners and their immediate family and friends getting sick during those inmate visits?

By releasing prisoners that will likely re-offend, is just another way for the state to milk the taxpayers out of more money when these criminals regress, and have to reappear before the courts again. Is this just another one of the state’s vicious cycles that Hawaii residents must endure?

So the prisoners are released, now what? No jobs, no money, no care of what is required to survive, no consequences, more crime.

So the criminal causes an innocent citizen harm whose only doing what’s right by remaining in quarantine. So let’s say that citizen shoots the criminal for breaking and entering, so now who’s held liable? Certainly not the state because they have already absolved their hands clean of any responsibility.

Once again, it will be the citizen(s) that dared to protect themselves, and the taxpayers because the criminal (dead or alive) will undoubtedly have rights that will need to be heard out through our fair and equal judicial system. Hearings that will be heard by the same folks who released them in the first place. Conflict?

Whatever the reason, aren’t you glad that the state would rather see our communities deal with this burden on our own, rather than admitting to their own namby-pamby intentions?

I wouldn’t doubt that the one-way ticket home from the Arizona prison is probably another contributor to our growing homeless population as well. That’s why the state has been providing them a tent and/or a safe place to stay.

Welcome home prisoners. So glad to see you can join the rest of us law-abiding citizens who are fighting the same exact virus outside the slammer.

So here’s your hat what’s your hurry … when do you all go back in again? Just curious.

Lisa Malakaua

Hilo

Let restaurants reopen

As a local restaurant owner, I’m amazed at the attitude the government has toward restaurants. After shopping recently at three major big box stores, I can assure you there will be way less people intermingling in restaurants than in these aforementioned stores.

These stores were packed with people. I have no gripe with these stores that are allowed to be open but … I firmly believe that restaurants will be much safer. Restaurant guests will not be making frequent interactions in aisles, guests will not be at the register paying and (according to the CDC) guests can’t contract the virus from food. So please, let restaurants reopen and stop making us out to be the “potential bad guys” in this difficult time.

Paul Streiter

Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill

Kailua-Kona

Letters policy

Letters to the editor should be 300 words or less and will be edited for style and grammar. Longer viewpoint guest columns may not exceed 800 words. Submit online at www.westhawaiitoday.com/?p=118321, via email to letters@westhawaiitoday.com or address them to:

Editor | West Hawaii Today

PO Box 789

Kailua-Kona, HI 96745