2 more Mainland prisons in contract

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i inmates on the Mainland will begin rotating between two more Mainland prisons as part of a new contract with Corrections Corporation of America, bringing the total of contract prisons to four, the state said yesterday.

John Peyton, state Public Safety director, said the state should have a new contract finalized within a week. The current state contract with CCA expires on June 30. Peyton said the new contract may represent a possible savings to taxpayers.

"This helps with overcrowding," he said. "There are other attractive aspects of the contract."

Hawai'i's correctional system has a rated capacity of 3,369 inmates, but more than 5,650 are in state custody. More than 1,000 of them are serving time in private Mainland prisons under contract with the state.

Under the current contract, inmates rotate between Hawai'i prisons and facilities in Arizona and Oklahoma on a quarterly basis. With the new contract, inmates would rotate between Arizona, two Oklahoma prisons and a facility in Tutwiler, Miss.

Peyton declined to discuss further details of the contract until it is formally completed. He said the discussions were wrapping up and an announcement would be made soon.

Prisoners from Hawai'i who are nearing the end of their terms usually serve them out in the state, while prisoners facing substantial time behind bars are transferred to the Mainland.

Hawai'i pays private prison operators and the federal government about $30 million a year to house inmates in privately run prisons in Oklahoma and Arizona and at the federal detention center in Honolulu.

Peyton said Hawai'i's prison population continues to grow, although not dramatically.

Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.