A local attorney and the Hawaii chapter of the ACLU believe the Department of Public Safety is violating prisoners’ constitutional rights by keeping them jailed longer then their sentences require.
“The ACLU has been concerned about over detentions for quite some time,” said Dan Gluck, senior staff attorney for the Hawaii chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
“We have some very serious concerns about how the facilities are being run and inmates' constitutional rights.”
In 2002 the state paid $610,000 to inmates who were jailed past their mandated prison sentences. The ACLU secured damages after filing a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of nine prisoners.
After gaining class action status the litigation eventually covered 180 inmates who were paid $1,000 for every extra day they stayed in prison. Some prisoners also received $3,000 for each strip search they were subjected to when they should have been freed.
On Wednesday State Auditor Marion Higa released a report on the Department of Public safety that showed over detention could be systemic.
According to the audit, 280 out of 985 release date errors were found at the Halawa Correctional Facility while reviewing the August 9, 2010 inmate roster report.
“One of the easiest things to check is whether the release date is correct,” said Higa. “Well we found in almost 30 percent of the cases the release date is already passed.”
“The audit shows that we are likely wasting large sums of money,” Gluck told Khon2. “The ACLU for years has been talking about the need for greater oversight, transparency and accountability and the audit shows exactly that.”
Meanwhile the state may be forced to payout even more money to inmates who were held in prison longer than what their sentences required.
A federal civil rights lawsuit filed in August of last year is awaiting a ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on whether the case can go to trial. Civil Rights attorney Jack Schweigert represents six of the nine plaintiffs.
“Once I went to court on these guys they were released instantly,” said Schweigert, who believes DPS is acting with indifference to inmates’ constitutional rights.
Schweigert says much of the problem arises from DPS calculating inmate sentences consecutively rather than concurrently.
For instance, if an inmate is convicted of two separate charges that require two years in jail for each count, judges often allow the prisoner to serve both sentences at once. Schweigert says DPS often decides erroneously that sentences should be served back-to-back, turning a two year jail sentence into a four year imprisonment.
“They're taking the position that they're not doing anything wrong (and) they don't have to do any investigation,” said Schweigert. “That if it's not in their file they're not going to have to call the court to find out if there's a mistake. I think that's indifference.”
Schweigert maintains over detention by DPS may involve hundreds of inmates and he’s hoping to secure class action status if the Ninth Circuit allows his lawsuit to go to trial in Honolulu Federal Court.
He pointed to one of his plaintiffs, Cornelius Alston, as an example of what’s wrong at DPS. Alston, 48, was scheduled to be released from the Tallahatchie correctional facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi on August 14, 2007.
After reviewing Alston’s file DPS incorrectly determined Alston’s sentence, which included multiple convictions, should be served consecutively and his release date was pushed back to November of 2011.
Once the error was brought forth in court in Honolulu Alston was released from jail almost immediately on December 27, 2007.
“When the public defender went to court to clear up this mistake,” said Schweigert, “the judge instantly found that it was a concurrent sentence and Alston was released forthwith.”
Phone calls placed to DPS Thursday regarding the issue of over detentions were not returned. However interim Public Safety Director Jodie Maesaka-Hirata issued a statement Wednesday in reaction to the state audit.
“The Department acknowledges the recommendations of the Auditor and will address the concerns raised in the report,” she said.
“While we understand state budget constraints, our goal is to ensure that people are incarcerated humanely with the least restrictive means conducive to learning and growing to become productive citizens of Hawaii.”
Gluck is hoping Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a former probation officer, tackles the problems at DPS head-on with a sense of urgency.
“We're hoping that the audit is a chance for the new administration to take a real comprehensive look at our criminal justice system and implement some new procedures and safeguards.”
Have a news tip? Contact Andrew Pereira at 368-7273. Follow Andrew on Twitter at Khon_Reporter
