Hospital patient's leaves draw fire
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
State prosecutors want to know why an O'ahu man they describe as a "psychopathic predator" should be granted unescorted leaves from the Hawai'i State Hospital, where he has been committed since 1981.
Randall Saito was acquitted of the 1979 killing of Sandra Yamashiro at Ala Moana Center by reason of insanity. He "is a psychopathic predator whose mental condition continues to represent a serious danger to the community," said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Albert in a "show-cause" motion filed Friday in Circuit Court.
The action was in response to Deputy Public Defender William Bagasol's Jan. 31 motion seeking unescorted leave passes based on the recommendation of Saito's treating physician, Dr. David H. Friar. In a letter to Bagasol dated Jan. 4, Friar said that Saito "has been able to make some very significant changes" and has not abused escorted weekend privileges to be with his wife the past two years.
"Having unescorted passes off the hospital grounds for therapeutic purposes is the logical next step," Friar wrote. "It is the belief of the treatment team and the hospital administration that this proposal represents the most appropriate clinical treatment approach for Mr. Saito at this time. ..."
A 9 a.m. hearing is scheduled Feb. 26 before Judge Reynaldo Graulty.
Albert's motion seeks answers from state Health Director Bruce Anderson, state hospital Administrator Paul Guggenheim, Clinical Director Celia Ona and Saito's treatment team members, including Friar and Dr. Donna Tsukamoto.
Albert contends that the state hospital administration has "taken virtually no action to implement the near unanimous recommendations of a score of mental health experts concerning appropriate treatment (for Saito)." The proposed "therapeutic plan" has "chosen to ignore the findings filed in court ... and the evidence on which they were based."
Albert said yesterday that despite refusing treatment, Saito "has the run of the grounds. They take him on (escorted) social tours and to rock concerts. Given the fact that he is receiving ineffective treatment, he should be transferred to a Mainland institution that offers the kind of treatment he needs.
"In Mainland institutions, if you don't agree to treatment, you don't get privileges. In the meantime, we also want the court to review if the type of escorted leaves being granted are appropriate. I'm not a psychologist or psychiatrist. I just look at the record, what the doctors and FBI guy is saying. That's why I think (requesting unescorted leaves for Saito) requires an explanation."
Yamashiro was a victim selected at random. She was shot and then stabbed repeatedly. Alan Brantley, a veteran profiler for the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit, said Saito still savored the details of the 1979 killing when he interviewed him in 1993.
In denying Saito's request for conditional release in 1993, the court concluded:
"... by clear and convincing evidence that the mental condition of sexual sadism and necrophilia with which (defendant) ... was diagnosed at the time of his court ordered commitment to the Hawai'i State Hospital in 1981 remains unchanged as is his mental condition.
"This court further finds that there is clear and convincing evidence that Saito is a dangerous person whose release from Hawai'i State Hospital on any conditions or combination of conditions would create a high risk of danger to others in the community."
In his letter recommending unescorted passes, Friar noted that Saito has been clean and sober, shows no signs of clinical depression or thought disorder and does not warrant treatment with psychotropic medication.
The proposed release plan calls for 10-hour-per-day passes every Friday and Saturday and covers home visits with his wife, meetings for his substance abuse problem and church services. After four to six months, he would be allowed off hospital grounds for 12 hours per day. He could be granted 24-hour passes once a month after six months.
