Posted on: Tuesday, August 3, 2004

Isle inmates 'safe' at Mississippi prison

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Despite a recent riot at a prison in Mississippi that houses almost 700 Hawai'i inmates, a state official said he is certain the prisoners are safe and enjoying a better quality of life than they could in a state facility.

"I think they (the inmates) are safe there," said John Peyton, director of the Department of Public Safety.

The private prison, in Tutwiler, is cleaner, less crowded, and has better overall infrastructure than any prison in Hawai'i does, Peyton said.

Almost two weeks after 28 inmates set fire to mattresses, clothing and a portable toilet, the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility is hiring additional guards.

Warden James Cooke said the prison will add 37 employees, including about 25 guards. The additions will bring the prison staff to 302 people, including about 200 guards, Cooke said.

Cooke said, however, that the decision to add staff had nothing to do with the July 21 disturbance. He said the changes are a result of an expanding inmate population.

"We will be getting more (inmates) from Hawai'i," Cooke explained.

The facility now houses about 850 inmates, with a capacity of a little more than 1,500, said Amalia Bueno, a Hawai'i state corrections official. There are about 120 inmates from Colorado, 690 from Hawai'i and 40 from Tallahatchie County.

Bueno said the Department of Public Safety has not received any complaints from the families of Hawai'i inmates housed at Tutwiler.

Prison officials, with the help of law enforcement, halted last month's disturbance within 30 minutes. No injuries were reported.

There was a similar recent disturbance in the Hawai'i prison system. On July 25, inmates at the Hawai'i Community Correctional Complex at Hilo started two fires.

A group of inmates piled tables, bedding, chairs and clothing into a heap and set fire to it, Hawai'i firefighters said.

When prison officials evacuated the inmates to another building, they started a fire there using chairs, a plastic trash can and trash. The inmates were evacuated to a holding area in a third part of the complex while a dozen firefighters worked to extinguish the blazes.

One inmate was treated at a local hospital for smoke inhalation.