Troubles at a prison
housing 435 Hawaii inmates
prompt a change in leadership

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

The warden of a northeastern Texas prison housing 435 Hawaii inmates has been fired in the wake of several fires and riots and complaints from residents living near the facility.

Charles Hardy, a former U.S. deputy marshal, was booted Tuesday as warden of the 870-man Newton County Correctional Center located near the Texas-Louisiana border.

Rod Ellis, director of operations for the Bobby Ross Group, which runs the prison, is interim warden, said Hawaii Department of Public Safety spokesman Ted Sakai. BRG is one of the largest private correctional operators in the United States.

Hardy is the second warden fired from a BRG-run Texas facility housing Hawaii inmates. George Fry, warden at Dickens County Correctional Center, was released Aug. 28, 1997, after ordering guards to fire live rounds and rubber bullets over the heads of inmates during a prison yard fight. Dickens holds about 100 Hawaii inmates.

State Public Safety Director Keith Kaneshiro also said that for the second time this week, trouble broke out at Newton when a guard was assaulted by a prisoner he was escorting out of a segregated unit.

"Other inmates joined in. Hawaii inmates pulled other inmates off the guard," Kaneshiro said. "We were told that Hawaii inmates stopped the whole thing."

A Hawaii prisoner and an Oklahoma inmate are suspects in a Monday fire that destroyed the contents of a commissary. More than 100 inmates, including 44 from Hawaii, took part in the riot in Newton's recreation yard and a fire that left $25,000 worth of damage.

Sakai said the state still believes BRG "does a good job" despite several problems.

One of the problems stems from the reluctance of Texas officials to prosecute Hawaii inmates who started other fires and instigated other fights and riots.

"Since the county won't prosecute these guys," Sakai said, "these guys don't see the consequences of their actions."

The other problem, Sakai said, is because Newton is a minimum-security facility and "when tensions increase, the inmates revert to their old behavior patterns."

The problem is housing medium security inmates in a dormitory-style facility, Sakai said.

Hawaii inmates have been involved in other incidents at Newton, including a riot and fire on Dec. 7.