Offenders to get drug treatment
By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
A bill that would give certain drug offenders treatment instead of prison time became state law yesterday, amidst criticism from some opponents who say it will create a legal loophole for violent criminals.
Gov. Ben Cayetano signed Senate Bill 1188 into law, calling the measure the "first big step in how we treat individuals who get in trouble with drugs." The new law, modeled after those approved by voters in California and Arizona, mandates probation and drug treatment instead of prison for people who are considered by a judge to be a "first-time, nonviolent" drug offender.
"I've been in this business now 28 years and it took me a long time but I came to the conclusion some years ago that with people who get in trouble with drugs, just throwing them in jail is not the answer," Cayetano said.
Cynthia Williams, 36, who was recently paroled after serving a four-year prison sentence for drug offenses, said she had been in and out of prison until she received drug treatment while incarcerated.
She said she wishes the state had such a drug treatment law when she was struggling with her drug problem.
"Prior to that I was never offered any kind of treatment," said Williams. "It was just, 'OK, you're going to do some time.' I was very resentful and I just went back to the drugs upon getting released because I didn't have any other options offered to me. It was just, now what do I do, I'm released, I have no home, I have nowhere to go so I went back to the only thing I knew."
Williams was among about a dozen women from a work-furlough and drug-treatment facility who were at the bill signing in support of the legislation.
"This is real exciting for me to see some of my friends that are just going in on their first charge to be able to have the opportunity to get where I'm at today because recovery, if you take advantage of it, is awesome," Williams said.
City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, however, criticized the new law, saying it may allow some people with a felony history — even possibly those with a violent felony history — to get probation if they have never been arrested for a drug offense before.
"We're basically told that the purpose of this legislation is to address people who are nonviolent, first-time drug offenders who are in prison, and if you peruse the records of the Department of Public Safety you'll discover that there are exactly six such people," Carlisle said.
House Minority Leader Galen Fox, R-21st (Waikiki, Ala Wai), also criticized the new law and said it would also allow those with a history of misdemeanor family abuse to avoid prison.
The new law gives state judges discretion to determine which convicts are considered nonviolent after assessing factors such as their criminal history and circumstances of the drug offense. People cannot be deemed nonviolent if they had a violent felony conviction in the past five years. Advocates have said they trust judges to make the right decision about whether to sentence offenders to prison or treatment.
State officials and advocates have also acknowledged the $2.2 million appropriated by the Legislature for drug treatment is not enough to help everyone who qualifies for it under the new law.
The new law fits into Cayetano's plan to release more inmates from prison to relieve crowding and divert more into drug treatment. Yesterday he said he wants state public safety officials to look into granting more than 300 inmates early release from prison.
Cayetano said officials are looking at releasing inmates who would benefit from drug treatment programs, immigrants who will be deported after serving prison sentences, and others for "humanitarian" reasons, such as if an inmate is elderly or has a terminal illness.
"I want more people that we can get into drug programs and lighten the load on the prisons," he said. But he later added: "There are some prisoners who have committed crimes for which they should never be released. We're not going to consider them."
