Arizona prison under review after Hawai'i men die
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
A private Arizona prison that houses inmates from Hawai'i has increased security and will undergo a management review following the deaths of two prisoners from Honolulu and an unrelated series of assaults, Hawai'i Public Safety Director Ted Sakai said.
"I'm very concerned with the management of that facility and the safety of our inmates after these recent incidents," Sakai said yesterday. "Based on our conversations with them, they moved quickly and locked down the facility."
The Corrections Corporation of America also agreed to send a top staff member and team of advisers to its Florence Correctional Center to review how it is run, he said.
"They're going to be reviewing their security procedures and changing them if necessary," Sakai said.
More than 550 male inmates from Hawai'i are serving time at the facility, which also houses federal prisoners from the Mainland. Prison officials did not return phone calls yesterday.
Inmate John N. Kia, 41, died Wednesday of an apparent heart attack, and Iulai Amani, 23, died April 15, possibly from a drug-induced heart attack. A medical examiner's investigation is expected to take two weeks, Sakai said.
Kia had a history of heart problems, but Amani's death raised serious questions because it may have been caused by a sizeable amount of cocaine or methamphetamine, Sakai said.
"We're going to stay in close contact with the warden of that facility and his staff and see what changes they're going to make and how they follow through," Sakai said.
At least three inmates from Hawai'i also have been injured in fights or assaults at the prison this month and were briefly hospitalized, he said. Prison officials believe the assailants also were Hawai'i prisoners, he said.
"We think these were factions within the Hawai'i group," Sakai said. "If it is gang activity, we're going to do everything we can to stop it."
A four-person team from Hawai'i's Halawa Correctional Facility found serious management problems when it visited the Arizona prison this month, he said. Hawai'i's contract with the private prison expires June 30 but is expected to be renewed despite the problems, he said.
"I think the key thing is the way they respond to our concerns," Sakai said. "So far they have responded well, but we're going to continue to monitor it carefully."
Amani was serving a 20-year sentence for the 1997 stabbing death of a teenager in a Waipahu apartment building, court records show. Amani was initially charged with second-degree murder but was convicted of manslaughter and had also been convicted of robbery, kidnapping and auto burglary charges.
Kia had a long criminal record and was sent to the Arizona prison after a 1999 conviction on kidnapping and sexual assault charges. He admitted to grabbing, threatening and fondling a woman at Ala Moana Center, according to court records.
Kia had been incarcerated at the Hawai'i State Hospital several times, and psychologists determined he was borderline mentally retarded but competent to stand trial, records show.
Nearly 1,200 Hawai'i inmates, including 80 women, are serving time in Mainland prisons to ease prison crowding here.
State officials have debated for years whether to end the practice and build a new prison. But the plans have been sidetracked by disputes over where a new facility should be built and whether it should be privately run.
