Half Of Hawaiʻi Inmates Leave Prison Without The IDs They Need To Start Over

Simoné Nanilei Kamaunu tends to a cacao plant behind her kalo Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, in the backyard of her Māʻili home in Waiʻanae. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s offer to help those incarcerated obtain identification cards like birth certificates, social security cards and Hawaiʻi state ID cards have been slow. Kamaunu continues to wait for some of the IDs she needs for work since her release. In the meantime, her love of the ʻāina continues to bloom while she continues to study, do homework and raise keiki. She received the cacao plant while in prison. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)

Simoné Nanilei Kamaunu left prison in 2022 with a $500 check and no way to cash it. She’d lost her social security card before she was locked up, her driving permit had expired and her prison identification card didn’t count for anything outside of the Women’s Community Correctional Center. Without a state ID, she couldn’t … Continue reading Half Of Hawaiʻi Inmates Leave Prison Without The IDs They Need To Start Over

Honolulu Civil Beat