The death on Christmas Day is the 11th fatality in a state prison or jail that is being linked to the pandemic.

The facility would replace the aging and crowded Oahu Community Correctional Center in Kalihi, but critics say criminal justice reform should be the priority.

Miti Maugaotega Jr. was convicted of murdering a fellow inmate in the Arizona prison where they were both being held.

Overcoming the urge to return to heroin or other opioids upon release is only part of the problem. Many encounter a life outside without basic resources.

Poor video monitoring in the facility’s control stations has been an issue for years and a recent inspection found only 40% of the cameras worked.

The continued failure of the electronic system has complicated efforts to provide inmates with the latest Covid-19 booster shot.

The killing of inmate Bronson Nunuha by another prisoner in 2010 was “especially cruel,” according to the 12-member jury.

A jury will decide whether Miti Maugaotega Jr. should be executed for the gang-related murder of Bronson Nunuha in 2010.

An Arizona jury last week found prisoner Miti Maugaotega Jr. guilty of first-degree murder and will now decide if he should be executed, sparking controversy in Hawaii.

Another jail guard was previously sentenced to 12 years in prison while two others are scheduled for sentencing in January.