Transfer limited to inmates stabilized on medication and approaching release
The Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation plans to carve out a dedicated therapeutic space for prisoners with mental illness inside the Waiawa Correctional Facility, a minimum-security work camp in Central Oʻahu currently operating well below capacity, according to Tommy Johnson, director of the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The agency will clear an entire dormitory at Waiawa and convert it into what Johnson described as a more therapeutic environment for prisoners who now reside at Hālawa Correctional Facility, the state’s largest prison.
“We’re looking at clearing out an entire dormitory and converting that to a more therapeutic environment for them,” Johnson said. “It’s a better environment than Hālawa, and it’s outdoors, and it’s considerably less restrictive, so we think that’s better.”
The Waiawa facility sits in a fairly isolated area of Central Oʻahu, about three miles from Mililani Memorial Park cemetery. The work camp can accommodate up to 334 men, but as of last week held only 189, according to Johnson. Every inmate currently housed there participates in education or substance abuse treatment programs.
To qualify for the transfer, inmates must meet three conditions, according to Johnson. They must be classified at minimum security, stabilized on their medications, and approaching their parole or release dates. Johnson did not specify how many prisoners would move under the plan or when the first transfers would occur.
Hālawa Correctional Facility, where the mentally ill inmates are currently held, is the state’s largest prison. The transfer plan would shift a subset of its population — only those men deemed stable enough for minimum-security housing — to the smaller, outdoor Waiawa campus.
Johnson, who leads the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the move would improve living conditions for prisoners with mental illness.