A stubborn insistence on sticking with flawed nominee Nolan Espinda seems to value loyalty over leadership.

UPDATED:  A Senate committee harshly criticized Nolan Espinda’s leadership of Hawaii’s prisons and the Sheriff Division.

Committee members grow frustrated during a second hearing on the renomination of Nolan Espinda as director of the Department of Public Safety.

Several criminal justice measures are still alive and will likely be hashed out in Senate-House conference committees.

A total of 37 prisoners were flown to Oahu after their suspected involvement in the disturbance, but five have been returned to Maui.

One key bill is dead but lawmakers should still act on other legislation that could improve our jam-packed, aging correctional facilities.

Supporters, including the Department of Public Safety, are backing legislation that would make Hawaii one of a handful of states that allow inmates to cast a ballot.

Nolan Espinda’s renomination to run the state’s prisons and jails is reported to be in peril.

UPDATED: The group opposes the construction of a bigger Oahu Community Correctional Center and calls for a new focus on rehabilitation.

Moving OCCC from Kalihi to Halawa is a good idea. But questions of cost and operation remain, as does a full commitment to prison reform.

Updated:Hawaii County police said Brian Lee Smith called them from a pay phone Thursday night to turn himself in.