Hawaii Supreme Court Ends Pandemic-Related Early Prisoner Release

Hawaii Supreme Court Ends Pandemic-Related Early Prisoner Release
The Hawaii Supreme Court. Coolcaesar/Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Matthew Vadum
Updated:

As state and local governments across the United States ease pandemic-related restrictions, the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii has decided to end a program that allowed for the release of low-level inmates early in hopes of controlling the spread of COVID-19 in the Aloha State’s detention facilities.

The three-page ruling ending judicial oversight of the jails came on April 16. The vote was 4–1.