STATE STUDIES EARLY RELEASE OF HUNDREDS OF PRISONERS

The Governor Argues The Move Can Safely Ease Prison Crowding

Gov. Ben Cayetano wants to release several hundred inmates early to relieve
prison overcrowding and get some prisoners into drug treatment programs.

Prison officials said earlier this week that they were looking into
releasing about 300 low-risk inmates early.

"As far as I'm concerned, that number that they have recommended is a little
too small," Cayetano said yesterday after signing a bill that requires
probation and drug treatment instead of prison for nonviolent, first-time
drug offenders.

"I can't tell you whether it's 400 or 500," Cayetano said. "I want them to
look harder and take into account the time left on their sentences."

But Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle believes releasing prisoners early to
make room in prisons is "poor public policy."

"If somebody thinks that there are more than 300 prisoners that should be
released early, then that person ought to have the courage to tell us who
they are, what they are in for, how many times they have been given
treatment and how many times they have failed," Carlisle said.

As of Monday there were 3,920 inmates at Hawaii's eight prisons, well above
the 3,487 capacity. An additional 1,310 Hawaii prisoners are contracted out
to private or federal facilities on the mainland, according to the state
Department of Public Safety.

Brent White, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said his
organization is monitoring the situation in the state's prisons and that
there has been a "drastic increase" in complaints. He said there are twice
as many medical complaints in the first three months of this year than in
all of last year.

Besides drug offenders who may be eligible for treatment, those being
considered for early release include the elderly, terminally ill prisoners,
those who can be deported and prisoners who have less than a year to serve
before their release, officials said.

Cayetano gave an example of Davut Duman of Turkey, who was sentenced to five
years in prison in November 2000 for causing the deaths of four co-workers
from a cruise ship in a car crash on Maui. Duman was not drunk but was
driving recklessly. The governor said he asked that Duman be deported back
to Turkey.

"There are some prisoners who have committed crimes for which they should
never be released. We're not going to consider them," Cayetano said.

Cayetano praised the new drug law he signed yesterday as a first big step in
how we treat people who get into trouble because of drugs.

Lawmakers also approved $2.2 million to pay for drug treatment programs for
about 200 eligible offenders.

An emotional Dancetta Feary-Kamai, the sister of the late singer Mackey
Feary, thanked the governor for signing the bill. Feary, a founding member
of the group Kalapana, committed suicide at Halawa prison three years ago
after a judge revoked his probation and sentenced him to 10 years in prison
after he tested positive for drugs.

"I know there's a song being written about a day like today up there,"
Feary-Kamai said.

She said the new law means officials will look at drug addiction as an
illness that can be treated rather than a crime.

However, House Republicans who voted against the bill issued a statement
saying the new law will put drug dealers and violent criminals on the street
instead of in prison.

"If they need treatment, they should get treatment while doing hard time.
Crystal meth is bad news, really bad news, and dealing in crystal meth is
the type of crime for which prisons are built," said Rep. Galen Fox (R,
Waikiki) in a news release.

Carlisle said the Department of Public Safety told him that there are just
six people currently in prison who would qualify for probation under the new
law.

Cayetano said law enforcement officials also objected to similar laws in
California and Arizona, but it turned out to be good public policy.

"Just throwing them in jail is not the answer," he said.