ARIZONA PRISON HOUSES HAWAIIAN INMATES ONLY
Inmates Shipped To New Private Facility
Corrections Corporation of America opened its newest prison in Arizona in Eloy on Tuesday. The $95 million facility is exclusively for Hawaiian inmates.
"Because Hawai`i has bed space for a limited number of offenders on the island and the cost of land in Hawai`i to build a facility is outrageous," said warden Daren Swenson.
The Saguaro Correctional Facility will hold almost 1900 medium security inmates from Hawai`i. The private prison will be geared to Hawaiian culture.
"I don't see it as making them comfortable. The key word is rehabilitation," said Andre Perez, a Native Hawaiian cultural advisor for CCA.
"We want to change the way they think," Perez said.
Along with education and counseling, maintaining Hawaiian holidays and ceremonies is also expected to help those returning to society.
The first inmates are expected by the end of the week, and the facility should be at full capacity by the end of the year.
