REGISTRATION LAW SERVES ITS PURPOSE

For the last two years, Todd Earl Ice lived quietly near Oak Ridge. But a "60 Minutes" broadcast changed all that.

Twenty years ago, Ice was convicted for brutally murdering a 7-year-old girl and slashing the throat of her mother.

Ice spent nearly two decades in Kentucky's prison and mental-health institutions. His release in 1996 caused a firestorm that led to changes in Kentucky law. Now victims must be notified when mentally ill criminals are set free.

But back to "60 Minutes." A recent rebroadcast of a 1996 interview with Ice set off some local alarms. Concerned residents contacted the sheriff to let him know Ice was in our midst.

Missouri law requires that those convicted of sex crimes and crimes against children register with the sheriff's department in the county where they live. Instead of registering, Ice chose to leave the state. That was his choice.

Sheriff John Jordan acted in the public's best interest in handling the matter. Law enforcement shouldn't just concern itself with solving crimes. Prevention is a critical part of the job as well.

Missouri's registration law provides a valuable service. An individual's right to privacy ends when he commits such a brutal crime.

Ice may have served his time in a mental hospital. But he admitted in the "60 Minutes" interview that without his medication, he could become dangerous again. Ice, who is reportedly psychotic and schizophrenic, takes his medicine on a voluntary basis.

County residents have a right to know when convicted killers are in their midst.