Judge orders
improvements at Hawaii youth prison

The state of Hawaii announced an agreement with the Department of Justice on Tuesday to make "sweeping and comprehensive changes" at its only youth prison, hours after a federal judge ordered an end to the abuse of its inmates. The announcement came after U.S. district judge Michael Seabright granted a preliminary injunction against the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of LGBT youth. The 77-page, detailed injunction said court records were "replete with documents and testimonial evidence demonstrating verbal harassment and abuse" of inmates by prison officials. It added that supervisors were aware of abuse, "yet they took no meaningful steps to remedy the conditions." Lois Perrin, legal director for ACLU Hawaii, said the injunction would ensure that inmates "are free from discrimination and abuse, which is rampant at that facility." "It was horrific," Perrin said. "Our clients feel very vindicated." Seabright is waiting for the ACLU and the state to agree on the language for a final order, which Perrin expects to be issued in a few weeks. Gov. Linda Lingle expressed concern about the conditions cited by the court. "We accept Judge Seabright's findings, and I am very troubled by the conditions he describes," she said. "Harassment of any of the wards at the HYCF, whatever their race, gender, or orientation, is totally unacceptable. Harassment will not be tolerated." Hawaii attorney general Mark Bennett said the state was "disappointed" that the court found conditions so severe. "We are going to need to move on and make certain that what Judge Seabright finds did occur and won't happen again," he said. "Everybody connected with the facility is saddened by these findings." Bennett said the three-year deal between the state and the Justice Department is designed to ensure that there are polices to protect inmates' rights and to provide them with grievance procedures. The state also said it has hired a national expert on secured youth facilities to assist. "These are problems that cannot be fixed overnight," Bennett said. He said he could not estimate how much the changes would cost. The lawsuit, filed in September, declared that immediate action is needed at the troubled Kailua prison, which the Justice Department described as "existing in a state of chaos" in a highly critical report last summer. In October a former guard there was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years' probation for grabbing and twisting a teenage inmate's genitals through his clothing. Bennett said recent problems should not be attributed to Lingle's administration because they have been present since the 1980s. He said since the Republican governor took office, the state has brought down the number of youths at the prison and raised salaries of staff. Perrin, however, said the state hasn't kept its word to significantly improve the prison. "We are very dubious, because 2-1/2 years ago, the administration promised that it would make certain changes," she said. "Since that time, very little has changed." (AP)