62
THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        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   

 
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 1        WHEREAS, the felon population of the Hawaii prison system
 2   rose from 300 in 1975 to 1,000 in 1983 due to longer sentences
 3   and the greater use of incarceration.  Prison capacity, which
 4   more than doubled between 1974 and 1984, could not keep pace
 5   with a prison population that increased six-fold in the same
 6   period.  A large percentage of Hawaii's prisoners are
 7   nonviolent habitual drug abusers who committed crimes to
 8   support their drug habits; and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, the setting of longer average minimum sentences
11   by the Hawaii Paroling Authority and the increased
12   incarceration of offenders in sentencing by the courts
13   reflected the public's desire to confine and punish nonviolent
14   offenders, including habitual drug abusers, rather than provide
15   for their treatment and rehabilitation; and
16   
17        WHEREAS, when (1) the heavy representation -- if not
18   over-representation -- of Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians in the
19   State's correctional system, first as youths and then as
20   adults, is combined with (2) the public's lack of interest in
21   and patience for treatment and rehabilitation programs -- much
22   less programs that are deemed holistic and culturally
23   appropriate, the result is the disenfranchisement of an entire
24   people for an entire generation and the creation of hardened
25   criminals with the propensity for committing violent acts upon
26   their release from prison; and
27   
28        WHEREAS, there is great hope within the Hawaiian community
29   that the family healing/harmonizing process known in Hawaii as
30   "ho`oponopono" can be used to not only heal the deep hurt
31   within families -- both Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian -- that leads
32   to habitual drug abuse and criminal behavior, but to also heal
33   the lingering hurt within communities that leads to the
34   public's intense desire to confine and punish nonviolent
35   offenders rather than provide for their treatment and
36   rehabilitation; and
37   
38        WHEREAS, constructing new prisons to house nonviolent
39   habitual drug abusers:
40   
41        (1)  Prevents the victims of nonviolent crimes from
42             healing their own hurt by allowing them to substitute
43             vengeance for forgiveness, thereby making it
44             impossible for these victims to move on with their
45             lives; and
46   

 
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 1        (2)  Prevents the perpetrators of nonviolent crimes from
 2             taking responsibility for their acts by allowing them
 3             to blame others for their criminal behavior, thereby
 4             making it impossible for them to move on with their
 5             lives;
 6   
 7   now, therefore,
 8   
 9        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
10   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
11   Representatives concurring, that the Legislative Reference
12   Bureau is requested to conduct a study to determine the likely
13   social and economic impacts of siting a holistic Hawaiian
14   alternative to prison facility on the island of Hawaii, using
15   specific locations identified by the Department of Public
16   Safety; and
17   
18        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Bureau is also requested
19   to summarize any reliable literature documenting the social and
20   economic impacts of holistic alternatives to prison facilities
21   throughout the continental United States; and
22   
23        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Bureau is requested to
24   submit its findings to the Legislature not less than twenty
25   days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2001; and
26   
27        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
28   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the
29   Legislative Reference Bureau, the Director of the Department of
30   Public Safety, the Mayor of the County of Hawaii, and the
31   Chairperson of the Hawaii County Council.
32 
33 
34 
35                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________