A Hawaii prisoner may have helped
start the burning of a commissary

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

In the fourth incident in two months, 44 Hawaii inmates housed in a northeastern Texas prison were involved in a riot this week where tear gas had to be used and a commissary was burned to the ground.

Nobody was injured in the riot involving 100 inmates Monday night at the Newton Fillyaw Correctional Center, where Hawaii has had 435 inmates since 1995.

Ted Sakai, Department of Public Safety spokesman, said the incident apparently started in a dormitory area where tear gas had to be used to subdue an Oklahoma inmate who was armed with a shank.

"The wind blew the gas into a gym, forcing the inmates into a recreation yard, where the fight occurred," Sakai said.

The inmates then broke open a door to a commissary and started a small fire, destroying the building. One Hawaii inmate and another from Oklahoma are believed to have started the fire, which caused an estimated $25,000 worth of damage.

There were no escapes from the minimum-security Fillyaw unit, and all the inmates were back in their cells by midnight.

Other recent incidents included:

Dec. 6, when four Hawaii inmates fought with nine inmates from Oklahoma and Missouri and Dec. 7, when Newton officials were forced to transfer 237 Hawaii inmates to Karnes County Correctional Center after inmates destroyed a control center by setting it on fire.

Jan. 10, when seven inmates involved in the Dec. 7 riot set fire to clothing, paper and other materials in their cell.

Feb. 9, when one Hawaii and five Oklahoma inmates started a fire in their cellblock.

Sakai didn't believe that any inmate would have to be transferred while repairs were made. The last couple of incidents resulted in $350,000 of damage, which the state is not liable for. So far, no charges have been filed.

Gov. Ben Cayetano said the recent disturbances in Texas are not causing him to rethink his decision to send Hawaii inmates there, noting there are also incidents in Hawaii prisons.

The exporting of inmates is based on the lower costs involved and the current overcrowding of the Hawaii prisons, Cayetano said.

Cayetano added: "I don't think any prison is without incident of any kind. I mean, the people you put together are people who have had a life of crime. Many of them are very, very hard-nosed in their attitude.

"This is not a country club that you're talking about. We're talking about some rough people."

Six hundred Hawaii inmates, including 64 women, are housed in Texas prisons run by the Bobby Ross Group to ease the state's crowded facilities. Another 600 will be sent to prisons in other mainland states later this year.