Hawaii Prison Begins to Clean Up Its Act

[deadparrot]

KAILUA, Hawaii - The abuses were described in youngsters' letters that were forwarded anonymously to the ACLU: Boys and girls were beaten, locked alone in cells for days and denied medical care by untrained guards at Hawaii's only juvenile prison.

Now, nearly three years after the tip helped expose mistreatment of teenagers at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility, the federal government is forcing the state to clean up its act.

Under an agreement reached Feb. 7 with the U.S. Justice Department, two outside experts will draw up plans for reforming the prison over the next three years, and the state must file updates on conditions there every four months.

The 75-bed, $6 million prison is in one of the most attractive settings in the nation, in a grassy green valley on Oahu. The place can be reached by a narrow road that takes drivers past cows and horses. On a recent weekday, some of the 62 teenage inmates played basketball in a gymnasium and waved to patrolling guards.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060309/ap_on_re_us/hawaii_youth_prison