Prisons

State Agrees To Settle Case Over Prison Drug Withdrawal Death Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2015

State Agrees To Settle Case Over Prison Drug Withdrawal Death

The settlement calls for a $600,000 payment to the estate of Brian Kimo O’Gorman after he suffered heart failure while withdrawing from methadone.

Tsunamis, Floods And Not Enough Space: Kauaʻi Is Moving To Replace Its Jail Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2026

Tsunamis, Floods And Not Enough Space: Kauaʻi Is Moving To Replace Its Jail

Officials say the new facility is long overdue so that they can focus on rehabilitating inmates.

Hawaiʻi Is Still Releasing Inmates Without IDs Needed To Reenter Society Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Hawaiʻi Is Still Releasing Inmates Without IDs Needed To Reenter Society

Lawmakers have made multiple efforts to improve the process of getting incarcerated people the identification they need to access basic services, but little has changed.

When Do Hawaiʻi’s Dying Inmates Deserve ‘Compassionate Release’? David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024

When Do Hawaiʻi’s Dying Inmates Deserve ‘Compassionate Release’?

Advocates say we’re the only state without a law requiring release of dying inmates in some circumstances, and will press the Legislature to pass one.

The Sunshine Interview: Hawaiʻi Correctional System Oversight Commission Leaders Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025

The Sunshine Interview: Hawaiʻi Correctional System Oversight Commission Leaders

Coordinator Christin Johnson and Chair Mark Patterson discuss funding challenges, staffing shortages, safety issues, investigations and rehabilitation at the state’s prisons and jails.

Big Island Prison Warden Reinstated After She Was Fired In 2015 Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022

Big Island Prison Warden Reinstated After She Was Fired In 2015

A lawyer for Kulani Correctional Facility Warden Ruth Forbes says the state dragged the case out, which will cost taxpayers big money.

Surge In Inmate Suicides Take Toll On Hawaiʻi Taxpayers, Too Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2019

Surge In Inmate Suicides Take Toll On Hawaiʻi Taxpayers, Too

Six legal claims are pending over people who killed themselves behind bars, with more to come.

Hawaiʻi Report Describes ‘Atrocious’ Conditions For Mentally Ill Inmates Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2019

Hawaiʻi Report Describes ‘Atrocious’ Conditions For Mentally Ill Inmates

Psychiatrists who inspected state facilities cited problems ranging from overuse of pepper spray to intentionally harsh conditions on suicide watch.

Three Alleged Gang Leaders Found Not Guilty in Jail Beating Death Hawaiʻi Attorney General’s Office

Three Alleged Gang Leaders Found Not Guilty in Jail Beating Death

Current and former inmates testified that the gang ruled an OCCC module, but their accounts of the 2023 killing failed to convince a jury.

Hawaiʻi Inmate Charged For Killing His Cellmate At Hālawa Prison Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2015

Hawaiʻi Inmate Charged For Killing His Cellmate At Hālawa Prison

Raita Fukusaku’s lawyer alleges his client was “targeted for assassination” by the prison gang Murder Inc.