Officials request $3M to house inmates in Arizona
HONOLULU — Hawaii prison officials are asking for an emergency appropriation of $3.4 million to keep housing inmates out of state for six more months amid a delayed upgrade to prison security systems.
The state has paid to house some inmates at the privately operated Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona while the Halawa Correctional Facility on Oahu replaces locks, video surveillance systems and other electronics.
Hawaii has spent more than $11 million to house prisoners elsewhere. Prison officials have kept a housing module vacant since 2016 to allow for construction, said Nolan Espinda, director of the Department of Public Safety.
Electrical and other work is completed in two of the prison’s four housing modules, said a state Department of Public Safety spokeswoman. The work is ongoing in the other two modules.
The project was originally planned for completion more than a year ago. Officials now expect it to be completed in June.
It’s being overseen by the state Department of Accounting and General Services. The construction was initially estimated at $9.75 million, but the contract was adjusted to more than $12.3 million, according to data provided by the agency.
The contract for the project was awarded in October 2015, and the contractor was given notice to begin work in February 2016, according to the agency.
Espinda told lawmakers at a hearing earlier this month that the project was planned to be completed in 11 months but work started six months late.
35 years for airman who killed roommate
SHREVEPORT, La. — A court-martial in Louisiana sentenced a 22-year-old airman to 35 years in prison for killing his roommate in Guam last year.
The seven-officer panel sentenced Isaiah Edwards on Tuesday in the March 27 stabbing death of 20-year-old Bradley Hale.
Edwards will be dishonorably discharged from the Air Force.
Both men were airmen and electronic warfare journeymen stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base in north Louisiana. They were deployed to Guam last year with the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.
Edwards said it was self-defense. He testified the two men got into a fight ,during which Hale picked up his knife, and, afraid that Hale would stab him, he got the knife back and stabbed Hale in the neck.
Prosecutors said the attack was unprovoked, that Hale was stabbed repeatedly and Edwards tried to wash off Hale’s blood before calling for help.
Prosecutors argued for a life sentence.
The family wanted a longer sentence, but at least Edwards got more than the defense request of less than 10 years, said Hale’s mother, Charla Hale. Now that the trial is finished, she said, the family can fully grieve.