Hawaii to Relocate Mentally Ill Inmates from Halawa to Waiawa Facility

The Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation intends to move roughly 40 minimum-security male inmates with diagnosed mental-health conditions from Halawa Correctional Facility to the Waiawa Correctional Facility on Central O‘ahu. The inmates must be stabilized on medication, classified as minimum-security, and be within 60 months of parole or release. Department director Tommy Johnson said the move will free a dormitory at Waiawa for a “more therapeutic environment” and noted that “walkaways” are rare in such open-air settings.

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Mentally ill prisoners have long strained Hawaii’s correctional system; a recent class-action settlement highlighted inadequate staffing and treatment at Halawa and the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center. Under the settlement, external experts identified 63 male inmates whose needs could not be met at Halawa but who did not require hospitalization at Hawai‘i State Hospital. The department has sought additional state funding to hire psychiatrists and nurses to address these gaps.

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He also indicated that daily 24-hour medical staffing and a psychiatrist must be in place before any transfers occur. Martha Torney, a longtime corrections administrator on the oversight commission, praised the plan, stating it is appropriate to house minimum-security inmates in a minimum-security facility.

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• “We’re looking at clearing out an entire dormitory and converting that to a more therapeutic environment for them,” — Tommy Johnson, director of the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

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• “It was not designed or built to be a specialized mental health treatment facility. Everything is open. There’s no bars.” — Tommy Johnson, director of the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

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