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Hawaiian
State Senators Visit Hawaiian Inmates
KOLD Tucson, AZ Nov 2, 2007 By J.D. Wallace, KOLD News 13 Reporter About four months ago, Hawaiian inmates walked through the gates of Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy. On Friday, a group of state senators and inmate advocates visited to see how things are running there. A chance to kick the tires on a new prison locked a group of special visitors from Hawaii in with almost 1400 inmates. "Who are you?" asked inmate Ken Duckworth. "I'm a state senator," replied Senator Will Espero, who is chair of public safety committee. Lunchtime allowed some inmates to express their concerns, such as how little they see their families. "Because we can never see them. The facilities are telling us, ‘no, you can't see your families,' basically," said inmate Bryan Collins. The Hawaii Department of Public Safety knows about those challenges. "We set up video systems through some churches in the state of Hawaii, that set up video visitation on Saturdays, we're expanding that from four locations to ten," said Tommy Johnson, deputy director of corrections for the Hawaii Department of Public Safety. Senators now have some firsthand knowledge and concerns about how the prison is run. "I'd like to see what training is available and where they are and what type of plan they have for their hires because many of the hires are new hires," Senator Espero said. "The mixture of experienced staff and new staff is a good mix. We're not in a situation where the majority of the staff are new staff. We're in a good position right now," said Warden Daren Swenson. Some of those in prison now will someday be back in the community. "It's the people who are fighting to get us out. Those are the people who are going to keep us out, but if we can't have visits with our families, with our kids, what good is there in that?" Collins asked. Corrections Corporation of America is still transferring inmates here from the Red Rock Center. The group is expected over there on Saturday. http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=7305213&nav=14RT |