Sexual Offender Cabbies Driving Star Crazy

By Kevin Tull

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Problem: Sexual offenders are getting taxicab licenses in Kansas City.

Solution: According to Donna McGuire's front page story in Kansas City Star, Sunday, April 2^nd, 2002 a "proposed ordinance would require people … who had a guilty plea expunged from … (their) record, to report such pleas. Another change would permanently bar people who have sex-related or such guilty pleas from obtaining certificates." In the article Bill George, President of Metropolitan Transportation Services Inc. (MTSI), "has suggested that the city routinely check sexual offender lists, revoke certificates when necessary and notify all cab companies."

All of these things sound reasonable as unfortunately do most expansions of government bureaucracies until one takes into account what is not being mentioned. The questions most important to this problem are what caused the problems in the first place? Why are there so many convicted sexual offenders roaming the streets?

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that our politicians are much more concerned with pushing legislation to incarcerate non-violent drug offenders that they can reap windfall profits from on asset forfeiture than in protecting our children from sexual predators.

Then again maybe I'm being too harsh, I'm sure our politicians are concerned about everything. Every aspect of our lives presents a problem to be solved or at least to make an honest (or dishonest) attempt to relieve via legislation.

I believe that if a person is released from prison then they have served their time and obligation to society and deserve full restoration of all rights. Because this is the way we should treat all free persons we have to be extra cautious of whom we imprison and whom we release back into society. This can be accomplished much more successfully if we restore judicial power to our juries as described in detail in my article "The Binding Mock Trial".

The problem lies in reason, or lack of. It only makes common sense that those who can't be trusted, by society, not to commit violent offenses (based on past criminal convictions) should remain behind bars. What is the purpose of our legislative, judicial and penal system if not primarily to help protect us by keeping dangerous criminals behind bars? If a person has been released from prison and can not be trusted to keep from committing more crimes then the only logical solution is for that person to remain imprisoned. The failure of our judicial system is that it allows these types of persons to be freed.

Here is an example from Ms. McGuire's story:

Frank C. Moore, 49, of Kansas City--a two-time sex offender-- received a certificate in 2000 and renewed it in March 2001. On his application, he listed a sodomy conviction and other crimes, including two previous assaults. He didn't reveal a 1991 sexual assault. His 1994 forcible sodomy conviction involved a 14-year-old girl, records show. He spent seven years in prison for that crime."

And the Star and Ms. McGuire report the problem as being that sexual offenders are getting certificates to drive cabs! C'mon folks, the problem is that our justice system is so broken that it would rather put a first-time meth-lab operator in jail for life than make sure the kind of worthless trash that Mr. Moore is an example of rots in jail until his lifeless carcass becomes maggot food. It's very difficult to drive a cab locked behind jail cell doors, not to mention near impossible to molest a child unless some poor unfortunate victim of a non-violent drug charge is placed in the same cell!

I'm sure we're all pleased to know the legislators of Kansas City are working with the previously mentioned Mr. George of MTSI (see Solution: above) who is quoted in the article as saying "This is actually a case of good government taking place," now doesn't that make you feel better. The President of MTSI who couldn't take it upon himself or his staff to at least alert the other 16 cab companies that MTSI had released or refused to hire these sexual offenders based on background checks, but expects the government to now do what it had, and still has, a moral obligation to do.

I'm sure Mr. George would argue that he cannot release private information on these offenders to other cab companies, but he could and was morally obligated to at least alert the other taxi companies that if these persons come to your company in search of employment we suggest that your company obtain full background checks on these persons before you consider them for employment.

Regardless of Mr. George's questionable scruples ultimately the failure rests with our local and state governments that continue to allow this kind of human refuse to be released into society. A Libertarian solution is called for. Stop locking up citizens for non-violent offences and keep violent offenders in prison.

Kevin Joseph Tull,

thejclib2@juno.com

Editor "Show Me Freedom"

Official publication of the Missouri Libertarian Party