Review panel again
backs Kealoha parole

The final decision likely rests
with the youth facility's director

By Linda Hosek
Star-Bulletin

Eighteen-year-old Gabriel Kealoha is waiting to hear if youth correctional administrators will accept a second recommendation to parole him early for recklessly killing a drunken, off-duty police officer last year.

A diagnostic team yesterday again favored early release for Kealoha, a Kamehameha Schools graduate hoping to begin a residential preparatory program June 29 at the University of Hawaii, said Hayden Aluli, Kealoha's attorney.

Hayden said Kealoha, who completed his high school diploma behind bars, would lose his spot if he didn't show up on time.

He also said the team made its first recommendation in early May and that he had hoped for Kealoha's release by the end of last month.

Bert Matsuoka, Office of Youth Services executive director, said the decision likely would be made by the facility administrator and that it could be made by Kealoha's educational deadline.

He said early release was not uncommon and that a team could recommend it during the first review. He also said multiple reviews are not uncommon.

"We are trying to treat this like a normal case," he said. "Mr. Kealoha is not treated any harsher or with any more leniency than anyone else in his situation."

A Family Court judge sentenced Kealoha on April 16 for manslaughter for his role in the death of Honolulu police Officer Arthur Miller, a 19-year department veteran whose blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.

Kealoha's term runs until Feb. 2 on his 19th birthday, the maximum time the state can incarcerate juveniles. If Kealoha had been convicted of manslaughter as an adult, he would have faced up to 20 years in prison.

City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle had unsuccessfully argued for Family Court to waive jurisdiction over Kealoha and order him to stand trial as an adult in Circuit Court.

Carlisle also has opposed early release for Kealoha, saying shortening what he described as an inconsequential term minimizes the seriousness of the crime and its consequences.

Aluli said he feared Carlisle's comments may have stalled Kealoha's release.

Matsuoka said his office had not been in contact with Carlisle regarding Kealoha's case.

He said the diagnostic team, which includes psychiatrists, medical personnel and facility staff, assesses the dangerousness and potential of the youth in what he described as a holistic approach.

He said the seriousness of the offense also plays a role. He said most of the 70 youths at the facility were incarcerated for misdemeanor violations.

He also said the facility can structure early release in several ways, including home detention, daily contact with outreach workers and electronic monitoring.

"Our goal is to have the youths become contributing adults instead of making them wards of the state," he said.