7 prisoners on
mainland must be
sent back to isles

They all face trial dates
here and were transferred
by mistake

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

Seven inmates, who were awaiting trial in Hawaii but who were recently mistakenly transferred to prisons in Oklahoma and Tennessee, will have to be flown back.

That will make a total of eight inmates who were mistakenly shipped out of Halawa Correctional Facility on July 30 and who have to be returned for trial.

"We know that somebody in the department made a mistake and we're trying to pinpoint who and what steps need to be taken to hold the people accountable," Ted Sakai, Department of Public Safety spokesman said today.

The inmates will be returned when their trial dates come up in Hawaii, between now and November.

The snafu was discovered a matter of weeks after the transfer. Public Safety Director Keith Kaneshiro had ordered Halawa Correctional Facility to look into the files of all the transfered inmates after one inmate, Michael Ortiz, was to begin trial on the Big Island and was nowhere to be found.

To be considered for transfer, inmates must have sufficient time yet to serve - at least two years, meet the proper classification requirements of the receiving facility and have no pending legal matters or court appearances.

In the case of the seven inmates, the staff failed to review the files properly to ensure they met the last criteria, Sakai said.

The exact cost of sending the inmates back is unknown at this time, he said. "We're looking for a way to minimize the cost to taxpayers."

The department is budgeted to transfer another 300 inmates to mainland facilities before the end of the year.

"One possibility is when the plane comes to pickup the other inmates, we will put the (seven) inmates on that flight and that will cost us virtually nothing," he said. It cost taxpayers $6,000 to send two adult correctional officers to Oklahoma with another inmate to take Ortiz' place and return with Ortiz in time for his trial. The state could not take advantage of lower plane fares.

The state is looking for the cheapest possible method, Sakai said. "By knowing early enables us to plan for their return."

A total of 180 male inmates were sent to the 1,440-bed North Folk Correctional Facility in Sayre, Okla. Also, 128 male inmates were transferred to the 2,016-bed Hardeman County Correctional Center in Whiteville, Tenn., in July. As the mistakenly transferred inmates are returned, other prisoners will be flown to the mainland from Halawa to take their place.

Hawaii now has 900 inmates in prisons in Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee to ease overcrowding in its facilities here.

The state plans to ship 300 more later this year.

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Star-Bulletin writer Debra Barayuga
contributed to this report.