The Sheboygan Press from Sheboygan, Wisconsin • Page 5

Buy, sell, trade: Call Classified Toll Free at 1-888-774-7744 www.sheboygan-press.com The Sheboygan Press, Monday, August 22, 2005 A5 Editorial Page Editor: Joe Gulig 453-5191 JGuligsheboygan.gannett.com She EDITORIAL BOARD Joe Gulig Editorial Page Editor Richard Roesgen Publisher Mike Knuth Editor Michael McQuade Managing Editor Alice Freeborg Citizen Member Opinion OTHER VIEWS GUEST EDITORIALS Heed ideas for cutting wrongful convictions I am i msm. i uiii -vim i Miuwuy vui I I'm mkxyx YOUR VIEWS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Inherent problems of health care must be addressed in order to enjoy its benefits Avery had a wife, five children and a job," Gov. Jim Doyle said in announcing his support for the bipartisan bill. "When he was released, his wife had divorced him, his children two of (whom) were less than a week old when he was imprisoned -were grown and his job was long gone." Although some law enforcement agencies may balk at the proposed requirements, the state has a responsibility to minimize the potential for wrongful convictions in every way it can. The Wisconsin Innocence Project, a program at the University of Wisconsin Law School that works to free wrongly convicted prisoners, helped Avery win his freedom and is involved in a second Northeastern Wisconsin case that of Beth La-Batte, who is serving a life term for the 1991 killings of sisters Ceil Cadigan, 85, and Ann Cadi-gan, 90, in rural Kewaunee County.

DNA found on evidence in that case did not match LaBat-te's. The UW law group has filed a motion for a new trial based on the DNA evidence. The justice system fails if even one person is wrongfully convicted. To minimize the chance of that happening, the task force made up of Democratic and Republican lawmakers, judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, police and sheriffs, academics and a victim advocate came up with its recommendations. They're solid and should become law.

This editorial appeared in the Green Bay Press-Gazette Recommendations of a task force established after DNA evidence showed that Steven Avery of Two Rivers was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault are now in the form of a legislative bill announced Wednesday. The Wisconsin Legislature should pass it. The bill calls for. A requirement that law enforcement agencies have some kind of written policy on how eye-witness identifications are conducted. An extension of the statute of limitations for sexual assault-related crimes.

A policy spelling out what DNA evidence must be preserved in specific cases. Priority status for DNA testing in potential wrongful conviction cases when a judge orders it. A requirement that police record interrogations of juveniles and be encouraged to do the same with adult suspects. State grants would help law enforcement agencies buy, install, repair and learn to use the audio and video recording equipment that the bill would require. Avery served 18 years in prison before new DNA evidence revealed that he did not sexually assault and try to murder a Manitowoc woman as she jogged on the Lake Michigan beach in 1985, the crimes for which he was convicted.

The new DNA evidence matched that of a man now serving a 60-year sentence for the sexual assault of another woman. "At the time of the arrest, better than 16th in a study of 22 industrialized countries in what medical professionals call outcomes. That's in part because so much of the care delivered is unnecessary as much as one-third, according to a Dartmouth University study. If we would clean up our act in the delivery of health care, then the problem of paying for it would be manageable. Normally, I am not in favor of any government intervention in private business, but I don't believe that the drug companies, the medical professionals, the contingency fee lawyers and our liberal judges will do what needs to be done without government intervention at the federal level.

I am concerned about the liberal leanings of many of our legislators, but if a balanced task force of knowledgeable people were to be appointed to address the problem and given some strong directive, they should be able to do a lot of good. If nothing is done, the problems won't go away; they will only get worse. We certainly should address the excessive costs in health-care delivery and then address how to pay for it. We can enjoy good health care in this country at an affordable cost if we really address the problems inherent in our current system. We need to put sufficient pressure on our legislators to galvanize them into some action.

ROBERT WILLIAMS Plymouth For some time there has been much said and written about the high cost of health care in the United States. There is obviously a very severe problem concerning universal access to health care, but I don't believe that this can be improved until we address the cost of health care. I am not in the health-care business, but even a layman can identify some areas that drive our health-care costs unnecessarily. When prescription drugs, even those manufactured in the U.S., cost two or more times what they sell for in other countries, we are being gouged unmercifully. Why is this? Are we subsidizing prescription drug sales on other countries? The widespread practice of drug companies to advertise their wares and say, "Ask your doctor if this drug isn't for you" puts a lot of pressure on doctors to prescribe that particular and undoubtedly expensive drug, whether it is necessary or not.

If they don't, their patients will go to another doctor, or worse yet sue the doctor for malpractice for not "providing the proper care" for a real or imagined ill. The high cost of malpractice insur-. ance has driven many doctors out of some states and, in some instances, out of practice. I believe that most Americans believe that a patient should be compensated for real damages due to errors by doctors or hospitals, but multimillion dollar punitive damages that claim to "teach that doctor a lesson" only serve to drive up the costs of health care for everyone. One aspect of this that seems to get Press editorials express the views of the newspapers editorial board.

Readers are encouraged to comment on editorials through letters to the editor or by calling Tele-Press at 457-1885. 1 i Here's why Bush should meet mm IHKONft DOES IT COST mm little notice is the fact that many doctors go way overboard in prescribing treatments that are very probably not necessary in order to cover themselves against malpractice claims. I believe that health care coverage' should be limited to the necessary treatment of injury or illness, including appropriate preventive treatment. The so-called quality of life items, such as Viagra, should not be considered vital and should be subject to discretionary purchase by the user. I am sure that people who are actively involved in the health care business can identify and evaluate many more areas of unnecessarily excessive cost.

The ridiculous cost of health care in this country also goes beyond access to health care for individuals. I believe that the current cost of health care is in excess of $10,000 per year. Since the typical full-time employee works about 2,000 hours per year, this translates into a cost of $5 per hour for a company to provide health care. This is not often mentioned when we talk about the problems our American companies have competing with foreign companies that pay much lower wages. Those foreign companies also do not pay such ridiculous healthcare costs.

An article in a recent Time magazine states that the U.S. is No. 1 in the world in terms of health-care expenditures a total of $1.8 trillion last year and rising at a rate more than twice as fast as our incomes yet it ranked no some of the soldiers, themselves, should be included. He might also invite a few Iraqis who support the effort to free a people long held in bondage by Saddam Hussein and who face new bondage under the totalitarian dictatorship of Islamofacism if this effort fails. The president should hold the meeting in a public place.

Let the criticism flow, but let Iraqi women tell their stories about rape and torture at the hands of Saddam's now-dead sons. Allow Iraqi men to tell about life under Saddam and how grateful they are that he is gone. Wounded soldiers and families of the dead would speak in support of the war effort. Members of Sheehan's own family could come. They posted a letter on the Drudge Web site support of the president President Bush is hearing Cindy Sheehan from behind a protective wall of security at his Crawford ranch.

He had addressed reporters recently, saying he sympathizes with her loss and knows she feels strongly about her position and "she has every right in the world to say what she believes. This is America." The president passed her in a motorcade on the way to a political fundraiser, prompting Sheehan to hold up a sign that read, "Why do you make time for donors and not for me?" A meeting with her among many would help dilute her political objective and allow other voices to be heard. It would also reinforce the president's position that withdrawal before Iraq is fev vu mm YY I Mil Thomas There are many valid reasons why President Bush should not meet again with Cindy Sheehan, the mother of Casey Sheehan, who was killed in Iraq. There is one reason he should and that reason trumps the others. Yes, such a meeting would set a bad precedent, because it would say that all one has to do to get time with the president is to stage a protest in August during the slow news cycle and one can enjoy a privilege available to few Americans.

Yes, Cindy Sheehan has become a tool and a willing one of the far left which is unrelenting in its criticism of the president and his policies. She dominates the Michael Moore Web page, which urges more people to show up at the Cal with Sheehan stabilized would do irreparable harm to American interests, Middle East stability and ultimately cost many more American lives as terrorists and fighters claim victory over the United States and feel emboldened to continue their terror campaign to establish one theocratic state after another. This isn't Vietnam, as Sheehan claims. While Vietnam is communist, Vietnamese did not attack America on Sept. 1 1, nor are they infiltrating our country in an attempt to destroy us.

To those who say Saddam didn't attack us on Sept. 11, the answer the president can give is that terror is all part of the same fanatical package. Let Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld preside at the gathering. He is the most articulate member of the administration when it comes to defending the reasons we are in Iraq. Let the president answer respectful, even challenging, questions.

Americans would appreciate a president who would risk putting himself in rhetorical harm's way when our soldiers are in far greater danger. Trie case for creating peace and stability in Iraq is a good one, but it needs to be made repeatedly because of short attention spans, bad memory and the boldness of the left, which thinks it has found the president vulnerable. Go and meet again with Cindy Sheehan, Mr. President, but this time not in private and not alone. Cal Thomas hosts "After Hours" on Fax News Channel Saturdays at 10 p.m.

CT. Direct all mail for Cal Thomas to: Tribune Media Services, 2225 Suite 114, Buffalo, NY. 14207. Readers may also Columnist We welcome your comments We welcome your comments on editorials, columns and other topics in The Sheboygan Press or any subject important to you. Submissions that include name, address and day and evening phone numbers will be considered for publication.

All submissions may be edited for length, accuracy and clarity. Please limit letters to no more than 500 words. Send submissions to Joe Gulig E-mail: JGuligsheboygan.gannett.com Mail: Box 358, Sheboygan, Wl 53082-0358 Tele-Press: (920) 457-1885 Letters to the Editor, opinion and editorial columns and articles submitted to The Press may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms. president ranch Crawtord, Texas, so they can be on TV and have their pictures in newspapers. The Moore Web site carries her daily rants, most of which are about her own "feelings" and the "insane war." She calls herself a "progressive liberal." Yes, the president can wait her out.

She has said she is staying until he either sees her or he returns to Washington. Yes, the media would love to have her meet with the president in private. It would duly record her predictable statement that he was insensitive and uncaring and that he did not respond to her concerns or complaints. It would be a well-choreographed attack on the president. Here's the reason he should meet with her, but not alone.

Other relatives of dead and wounded soldiers and.