The Hawaii Paroling Authority has meted out maximum prison terms in two recent cases of savage domestic violence, ordering killer Roy Hartsock to serve at least 100 years behind bars and Rita Makekau to serve every day of her five-year prison term for brutalizing five children.

Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said that in a parole hearing last month, Makekau, 52, accepted responsibility for the harm she caused to her nieces and nephews and “apologized to each of the children.”
“It was a complete 180” from Makekau’s previous unrepentant attitude, Carlisle said.
Four of the five children attended the hearing, in which the Parole Authority members determine the minimum amount of prison time a convict must serve before being considered for parole.
Makekau wept continuously during the hearing and afterward was hugged by two of the children, Carlisle said.
Colette Dhakhwa, a court-appointed attorney representing the children, was present at the hearing and said today that “it was a very cathartic moment for the children.”
The hugs from the children for the aunt that abused them “shows how deep family loyalties run,” said Dhakhwa.
The parole board normally issues a decision days or weeks after minimum term hearings are held, but ordered on the spot that Makekau must serve all five years of her sentence, Carlisle pointed out.
In the case of Hartsock, convicted of the 2008 stabbing murder of his wife, Jenny, the board met May 5 and decided yesterday on the 100-year minimum term for him, said Deputy Prosecutor Jeen Kwak.
Hartsock pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was given a life sentence with the possibility of parole in September.
Hartsock was on parole for earlier burglary and assault convictions when he killed Jenny Hartsock Jan. 9, 2008, stabbing her with a 14-inch kitchen knife that he left embedded in the victim’s chest.
At the parole hearing, Kwak said, Hartsock blamed his wife for the crime because he suspected her of having an affair, Kwak said.
Hartsock said “the victim, the person that he killed, was the cause of it all,” Kwak said.
The 100-year minimum term “guarantees the safety of our community” and provides “some justice to the victim’s family, although nothing will bring Jenny Hartsock back,” said Kwak.