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Staff at Maui Community Correctional Center say it’s the fifth suicide at the jail in less than five years.

The lawsuit alleges Global Tel Link overcharged inmates and their families, and people who used the system have until next week to file for reimbursement.

Espinda abruptly retired in 2020 as Covid-19 spread through the state correctional system, and public worker unions called for his ouster.

The prison director told an oversight commission that the correctional system is trying to prevent inmate suicide but can do better.

The internal affairs report claimed staff had been trained in suicide prevention policies, and a guard made the required cell checks. Neither was true, and an inmate died.

A measure to let people accused of nonviolent misdemeanors go free without bail will be put to a final vote in the House and Senate next week.

The lack of staff has effectively hobbled the work of the Hawaii Correctional Systems Oversight Commission.

J. Marte Martinez, who oversees training for the state Department of Public Safety, also is accused of perjury and lying to authorities.

The state admitted liability in the case of a 28-year-old prisoner who was on ‘observation status’ in the medical unit, but hung himself anyway.

A leading Democrat is withholding funding for a new jail in Halawa, arguing officials won’t really know how large the jail should be until the bail reform debate is resolved.