STAR-BULLETIN / 2000
Gov. Ben Cayetano wants to release several hundred inmates from Hawaii's eight prisons, like Oahu Community Correctional Center in Kalihi, to relieve overcrowding.
State studies early Gov. Ben Cayetano wants to release several hundred inmates early to relieve prison overcrowding and get some prisoners into drug treatment programs.
release of hundreds
of prisoners
The governor argues the move
can safely ease prison crowdingBy Craig Gima
cgima@starbulletin.comPrison officials said earlier this week that they were looking into releasing about 300 low-risk inmates early.
"As far as I'm concerned, that number that they have recommended is a little too small," Cayetano said yesterday after signing a bill that requires probation and drug treatment instead of prison for nonviolent, first-time drug offenders.
"I can't tell you whether it's 400 or 500," Cayetano said. "I want them to look harder and take into account the time left on their sentences."
But Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle believes releasing prisoners early to make room in prisons is "poor public policy."
"If somebody thinks that there are more than 300 prisoners that should be released early, then that person ought to have the courage to tell us who they are, what they are in for, how many times they have been given treatment and how many times they have failed," Carlisle said.
As of Monday there were 3,920 inmates at Hawaii's eight prisons, well above the 3,487 capacity. An additional 1,310 Hawaii prisoners are contracted out to private or federal facilities on the mainland, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
Brent White, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said his organization is monitoring the situation in the state's prisons and that there has been a "drastic increase" in complaints. He said there are twice as many medical complaints in the first three months of this year than in all of last year.
Besides drug offenders who may be eligible for treatment, those being considered for early release include the elderly, terminally ill prisoners, those who can be deported and prisoners who have less than a year to serve before their release, officials said.
Cayetano gave an example of Davut Duman of Turkey, who was sentenced to five years in prison in November 2000 for causing the deaths of four co-workers from a cruise ship in a car crash on Maui. Duman was not drunk but was driving recklessly. The governor said he asked that Duman be deported back to Turkey.
"There are some prisoners who have committed crimes for which they should never be released. We're not going to consider them," Cayetano said.
Cayetano praised the new drug law he signed yesterday as a first big step in how we treat people who get into trouble because of drugs.
Lawmakers also approved $2.2 million to pay for drug treatment programs for about 200 eligible offenders.
An emotional Dancetta Feary-Kamai, the sister of the late singer Mackey Feary, thanked the governor for signing the bill. Feary, a founding member of the group Kalapana, committed suicide at Halawa prison three years ago after a judge revoked his probation and sentenced him to 10 years in prison after he tested positive for drugs.
"I know there's a song being written about a day like today up there," Feary-Kamai said.
She said the new law means officials will look at drug addiction as an illness that can be treated rather than a crime.
However, House Republicans who voted against the bill issued a statement saying the new law will put drug dealers and violent criminals on the street instead of in prison.
"If they need treatment, they should get treatment while doing hard time. Crystal meth is bad news, really bad news, and dealing in crystal meth is the type of crime for which prisons are built," said Rep. Galen Fox (R, Waikiki) in a news release.
Carlisle said the Department of Public Safety told him that there are just six people currently in prison who would qualify for probation under the new law.
Cayetano said law enforcement officials also objected to similar laws in California and Arizona, but it turned out to be good public policy.
"Just throwing them in jail is not the answer," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
State of Hawaii
