State to investigate killing of island inmate in Arizona
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jun 15, 2010
Amid growing scrutiny of the state's practice of shipping inmates to the mainland, a state Department of Public Safety team left for Arizona yesterday to investigate the killing of a 23-year-old Hawaii inmate at Saguaro Correctional Center.
Arizona authorities expect to charge a 21-year-old Hawaii inmate in connection with the killing at Saguaro, a private prison in Arizona where nearly 1,900 Hawaii inmates are housed.
BY THE NUMBERS1,871 male inmates at Saguaro1,897 beds at Saguaro $61 million per year to house male inmates on mainland |
Eloy, Ariz., police said Mahinauli Silva strangled his cellmate, Clifford Medina, while the prison was in lockdown on last Tuesday.
The killing is the second of a Hawaii inmate on the mainland this year and is prompting calls for new attention to the out-of-state prison population.
State Sen. Will Espero, chairman of the Senate Public Safety Committee, said the two inmate deaths raise serious questions about the state's policy of shipping out inmates and will undoubtedly raise the prominence of the discussion in the 2011 legislative session.
"Maybe this could give us a reason to pause," he said, adding that the Hawaii team in Arizona to investigate Medina's death needs to answer this question: "Is this prison unsafe, and are there some major security breaches?"
Meanwhile, Medina's family said they are not getting any details on the killing from the state Department of Public Safety and plan to travel to Arizona to look into the death themselves.
"It's so frustrating," said Loke Medeiros, Medina's aunt. "No one from Public Safety talks to us."
Medeiros said that Medina had cognitive disabilities and attention deficit disorder and had recently been placed in isolation. As a result, he could call his family only once a month.
"The day of his death was the day he was supposed to call home," said Medeiros, of Puna. "He had told us he was in what they call the hole."
DPS Director Clayton Frank said he had not gotten official word yesterday on Medina's cause of death and so could not comment on the case. But he did say the DPS team would be working with Eloy police and with prison officials to investigate what happened and evaluate security at the facility.
Some 1,871 male Hawaii inmates are at Saguaro, a 1,897-bed prison owned by Corrections Corp. of America. About 50 more are at a separate CCA prison in Arizona.
The state spends about $61 million a year to house male inmates on the mainland because there is not enough room for them at Hawaii prisons. Last year, allegations by female Hawaii inmates of widespread sexual abuse by guards and employees at a CCA facility in Kentucky prompted the state to pull all 168 of its female inmates from the prison and bring them back to the islands to serve their time.
Silva, the suspect in the killing last week, remains in custody at the Saguaro Correctional Center and is expected to be charged today or tomorrow, said Sgt. Michelle Tarango, of the Eloy Police Department.
Police did not provide information yesterday on a motive in the killing and could not say why the prison was in lockdown.
Tarango said Silva confessed in police custody to strangling his cellmate, then waiting a "short while" before pushing an emergency button to call for guards.
Medina was sent to Arizona about six months ago and was serving time for first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer, two counts of second-degree burglary, second-degree theft and bail jumping. He would have been eligible for parole in 2012.
Silva was serving time for burglary and theft.
Saguaro was also the site of the stabbing death of Bronson Nunuha on Feb. 18. Two Hawaii inmates -- Micah Kanahele and Miti Maugaotega Jr.
have been indicted on first-degree murder charges in the case.
Nunuha was the first Hawaii inmate killed in a private prison on the mainland since the state started housing inmates out of state in 1995, though others have been seriously assaulted.
Officials have said Nunuha's death appeared to be gang-related. There are no indications Medina's death was linked to gangs.
Replies
Prisoners who have commited non-violent crimes should be released and put into programs that will be based on watching their actions as well as counselling them. I feel that the State Of Hawaii shouldn't be putting money into the prison system where prisoners who have been convicted for violent crimes are not being helped based on their crimes, instead they are commiting more violent crimes and those who have commited non-violent crimes are not being treated fairly and equally to get help with the programs that they are required to complete. Also, I am concerned about the way the Big Island State Judiciary court system works. I feel that they have a lot of discrimination against some local drug offenders. My husband who has a clean record, and have been charged with a first offense drug related crime, has been sentenced to prison for an open 15 years serving as a consecutive. Do you feel that this was a fair sentencing for a first time offender with a clean record? He has been serving his time in Saguaro Correctional Facility for almost 3 1/2 years and completed a number of programs which he is required to do in order to be released. The one and only program that he needs to complete is the level 3(cash box) program. Although he is still waiting, there are prisoners from Halawa Correctional Facility who will be shipped to Saguaro Correctional Facility in a couple of days to complete their level 3(cash box) program. They will be completing this before my husband who has been waiting and can't even get accepted into the program to finish his cash box and return home to his family. I feel this is unfair on how the prison system works in arizona.
Most prisoners should not be imprisoned but sent into programs to rehabilitate for making errant choices. Murder, armed-robbery, rape and assault could be considered violent crimes in various degrees. Drug bust of users and pushers and thievery, are not violent crimes and there are ways to monitor their actions as well as conselling to rehabilitate.
The non-violent crimes can best be used in programs that include raising vegetables and animal husbandry. This would supplement the food cost in running the prisons. Now that's positive actions. Kulani Prison could also be reopened and taken away from the military use as Lingle has done. There are all kinds of options that can be utilized rather than send Hawaii nationals outside of the country to the U.S.A.
There is something fishy about the deaths of the inmates and those accused. I'm against the death penalty period. I could give a shit if it happened in Arizona. The inmates nor Hawaii nationals agreed to have them shipped there.
Strange that we haven't heard of any murders committed in our prisons in Hawai'i. If so, I don't recall any being reported here. Is there a cover up all the way around? These prison corporations is a business that looks for profits. So the more get sent to prison, the more money they make in profits. To call it a correctional facility is a misnomer. It's best to rethink this type of operation and call for legislators' accountability.
Bring our prisoners home; it's our kuleana.
Long Live The Hawaiian Kingdom, o Pomai, HPACH
Ben Carnes of the Choctaw People over in the U.S. has campaigned for penal reform and has himself testified on behalf of Kanaka Maoli in the past, he has an article on his own incarceration experiences here: http://www.censored-news.blogspot.com/2008/01/choctaw-ben-carnes-bo...
The Law Offices of Alan Ellis have an introductory guide to International prisoner transfers, it can be found on the internet under: "An introduction to International Prisoner Transfers: Going Home by Alan Ellis."
The current position is that the prisoner must be a National of the receiving country. According to Alan Ellis the U.S. Government has 59 countries and their Territories with which they have such Treaties.
I don't believe I heard of that law. I do know that under the law of occupation, the occupier cannot relocate any Hawaiian subject out of the country under any circumstances, nor displace them or evict them off their lands. Nor can any occupier's citizens relocate into the occupied territory; they would be in violation of the law of occupation and referred to as hostile occupiers. Thus it's a violation to send our citizens out of the country.
Tane