In a bid to get a lesser sentence, a former staffer in an Arizona prison where hundreds of Hawaiʻi inmates are held claims she was hired despite her history of mental illness.

The state’s top corrections official has promised “unfettered access” for a pair of outside experts who will begin scrutinizing the system next month.

The city and state quickly came to an agreement after EMS warned it would no longer enter Hālawa prison or the Oʻahu jail because of security concerns.

Recent incidents at two state facilities prompted a letter to state prison officials telling them medical crews won’t be going inside the jails and prison anymore.

A pair of national experts will determine what is needed to improve services for mentally ill inmates. Then lawmakers will be asked to fund the fixes.

For the third year in a row, the Hawaiʻi Youth Correctional Facility’s kitchen is understaffed, so it is turning to plate lunches for emergency meals.

The study says the lack of effective reentry programs is one reason so many inmates get in trouble again soon after release.

More than seven years after Hawaiʻi passed a law meant to address the problem, the number of people leaving prison and jail without key documents has barely budged.

The college launched a Hawaiian studies program at Halawa Correctional Facility in 2022, but found many students dropped out because they were sent to an Arizona prison.

The death of OCCC inmate Eric Scotton is apparently the third homicide in the Hawaiʻi correctional system in less than a year.