REGISTRATION LAW PROVES TO BE USEFUL

Todd Ice, a convicted killer, has registered, in accordance with Missouri law, with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Where he is living in the county is now a matter of public record.

This is just the way Missouri's registration law should work.

Knowledge is power, and community residents should know when someone convicted of a crime against a child moves into our midst. That is not to say that parents should get up in arms or harass convicts. Ice has served his time in jail and has been released.

But people who commit crimes against children often repeat the crimes, especially sex offenses. This fact helped the Legislature push through the registration law.

All 50 states now require sex offenders who have been paroled or released from prison to register with local authorities when moving to a community. It is often referred to as Megan's Law, named for Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old New Jersey girl who was raped and murdered in 1994 by a twice-convicted sex offender who lived across the street from her home.

Missouri's statues are written broadly, covering such crimes as kidnapping, promotion of prostitution and abuse of a child. The registrations are kept on file at local sheriffs' offices.

In some states, like New Jersey, authorities must notify schools, day-care centers and youth groups about moderate-risk sex offenders. For high-risk offenders, the law requires police to go door-to-door notifying neighborhood residents. The U.S. Supreme Court let the law stand earlier this year. Missouri's law doesn't go that far.

Ice was convicted of murdering a 7-year-old girl 20 years ago in Kentucky. He had lived quietly near Oak Ridge for two years until July when someone recognized him from a "60 Minutes" broadcast about the case. In the broadcast, Ice said that although he doesn't consider himself dangerous, he could become dangerous again if he were to stop taking his medication. The medication is not required by law, which is a concern.

Sheriff John Jordan rightly asked Ice to register. The law specifically requires offenders from another state to register here just as if they had committed the crime in Missouri. Ice disappeared, and authorities were told he may have left the state. A warrant was issued for his arrest for failure to register.

In fact, Ice was merely transferred to another boarding home in Cape Girardeau. He surrendered to authorities in September, and he registered last week to avoid a legal battle.

That was a good decision on his part. In the end, everyone will benefit from this law.