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A Honolulu lawyer plans to ask a federal judge to appoint a special master to force the state to provide better mental health care to inmates.

Prisoners often face an uphill battle to complete drug and behavioral programs required by the parole board.

The settlement of a lawsuit over sex assaults of female inmates came after a federal court judge announced plans to probe allegations of misconduct by state lawyers.

The Correctional System Oversight Commission has provided the public with an unprecedented window into the operations of Hawaii’s troubled prisons and jails.

The “shakedown” was partly prompted by unconfirmed reports that the beating death of an inmate was recorded on a cellphone, according to staff.

Henrietta Stone, 65, has been locked up since 2017 while the court determines if she is mentally fit.

Two other prisoners considered suspects were members of rival gangs who were locked up together in the same cell, staff said.

The paroling authority sets the minimum terms that inmates must serve before they can be released from prison, a task that other states assign to judges.

Mental health experts have submitted a dozen reports to the court assessing the mental state of John Ali Hoffman, but the case still has not moved forward.

It’s the first such program in Hawaii that allows inmates to earn a college degree with classes taught by professors working directly with them at the prison.