Hawaii to Relocate Mentally Ill Prisoners to Minimum-Security Waiawa Facility

Hawaii’s corrections chief, Tommy Johnson, announced a plan to overhaul part of the minimum-security Waiawa Correctional Facility on Central Oʻahu, turning an empty dormitory into a therapeutic unit for mentally ill inmates currently housed at Hālawa Correctional Facility. The program will initially move about a dozen of the 63 identified prisoners, expanding to roughly 43, all of whom must be stable on medication, classified as minimum-security, and within 60 months of release.

Advocates praise the effort as a step toward addressing the chronic shortage of mental-health services that led to a class-action lawsuit settlement last year. Lawmakers such as Rep. Trish La Chica and community leaders like T.J. Cuaresma have raised concerns about staffing, safety, and whether Waiawa’s open-air design can meet treatment needs.

The department says a 24-hour medical team and a psychiatrist will be in place before transfers begin. The initiative also follows recent measures to reduce Hālawa’s crowding, including sending medium-security inmates to a privately run prison in Mississippi.