42
THE SENATE                           S.R. NO.              
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  RESOLUTION
  REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU TO DETERMINE THE
    LIKELY SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF SITING A HOLISTIC
    HAWAIIAN ALTERNATIVE TO PRISON FACILITY ON THE ISLAND OF
    HAWAII.



 1        WHEREAS, in 1888, prison officials for the Kingdom of
 2   Hawaii reported that many Chinese prisoners are found to be
 3   suffering from habitual opium use upon entering Oahu Prison;
 4   and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, in 1888, prison officials suggested that:
 7   
 8        (1)  All prisoners be graded according to the nature of
 9             their offenses;
10   
11        (2)  Persons convicted of heinous crimes be separated from
12             those who have committed lighter offenses; and
13   
14        (3)  Young men committed for slight offenses be separated
15             from those whose lives are hardened in sin, to better
16             the chances of reforming young criminals;
17   and
18   
19        WHEREAS, in 1898, prison officials suggested that a
20   reformatory school for young girls be established to avoid
21   having to send them to the prison in the company of women of
22   the lowest and most degraded types; and
23   
24        WHEREAS, for more than one hundred years, prison officials
25   for the Kingdom of Hawaii, the Territory of Hawaii, and the
26   State of Hawaii have known that:
27   
28        (1)  Many prisoners suffer from habitual drug abuse upon
29             entering prison; and
30   
31        (2)  Mixing nonviolent habitual drug abusers with hardened
32             violent criminals lessens the former's chances of
33             reform;
34   and
35   
36        WHEREAS, the felon population of the Hawaii prison system
37   rose from 300 in 1975 to 1,000 in 1983 due to longer sentences
38   and the greater use of incarceration.  Prison capacity, which

 
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                                  S.R. NO.              
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   more than doubled between 1974 and 1984, could not keep pace
 2   with a prison population that increased six-fold in the same
 3   period.  A large percentage of Hawaii's prisoners are
 4   nonviolent habitual drug abusers who committed crimes to
 5   support their drug habits; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, the setting of longer average minimum sentences
 8   by the Hawaii Paroling Authority and the increased
 9   incarceration of offenders in sentencing by the courts
10   reflected the public's desire to confine and punish nonviolent
11   offenders, including habitual drug abusers, rather than provide
12   for their treatment and rehabilitation; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, when (1) the heavy representation -- if not
15   over-representation -- of Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians in the
16   State's correctional system, first as youths and then as
17   adults, is combined with (2) the public's lack of interest in
18   and patience for treatment and rehabilitation programs -- much
19   less programs that are deemed holistic and culturally
20   appropriate, the result is the disenfranchisement of an entire
21   people for an entire generation and the creation of hardened
22   criminals with the propensity for committing violent acts upon
23   their release from prison; and
24   
25        WHEREAS, there is great hope within the Hawaiian community
26   that the family healing/harmonizing process known in Hawaii as
27   "ho`oponopono" can be used to not only heal the deep hurt
28   within families -- both Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian -- that leads
29   to habitual drug abuse and criminal behavior, but to also heal
30   the lingering hurt within communities that leads to the
31   public's intense desire to confine and punish nonviolent
32   offenders rather than provide for their treatment and
33   rehabilitation; and
34   
35        WHEREAS, constructing new prisons to house nonviolent
36   habitual drug abusers:
37   
38        (1)  Prevents the victims of nonviolent crimes from
39             healing their own hurt by allowing them to substitute
40             vengeance for forgiveness, thereby making it
41             impossible for these victims to move on with their
42             lives; and
43   
44        (2)  Prevents the perpetrators of nonviolent crimes from
45             taking responsibility for their acts by allowing them

 
 
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                                  S.R. NO.              
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1             to blame others for their criminal behavior, thereby
 2             making it impossible for them to move on with their
 3             lives;
 4   
 5   now, therefore,
 6   
 7        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 8   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, that the
 9   Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to conduct a study to
10   determine the likely social and economic impacts of siting a
11   holistic Hawaiian alternative to prison facility on the island
12   of Hawaii, using specific locations identified by the
13   Department of Public Safety; and
14   
15        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Bureau is also requested
16   to summarize any reliable literature documenting the social and
17   economic impacts of holistic alternatives to prison facilities
18   throughout the continental United States; and
19   
20        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Bureau is requested to
21   submit its findings to the Legislature not less than twenty
22   days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2001; and
23   
24        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
25   Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative
26   Reference Bureau, the Director of the Department of Public
27   Safety, the Mayor of the County of Hawaii, and the Chairperson
28   of the Hawaii County Council.
29 
30 
31 
32                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________