Kulani Pu’uhonua NOT Prison!
PRESS RELEASE: August 2, 2013
Ohana Ho`opakele files complaint challenging Final Environmental Assessment on Reactivation of Kulani prison
Ohana Ho’opakele president Palikapu Dedman said, “This is a historic lawsuit for a Pu’uhonua, not a prison, at Kulani that will help heal people, reduce recidivism, and save the state money. It raises issues that have never been raised before about justice for Hawaiians and the need to end racial discrimination and profiling of Hawaiians. Our prisons are full of Hawaiians and nothing has ever been done to address this injustice. It’s long overdue that the state follow Act 117 and the Hawaii State Constitution to protect Hawaiians and stop using the misery of Hawaiians as a commodity.”
Ohana Ho`opakele and individuals Palikapu Dedman, Ronald Fujiyoshi, James Albertini, Nohea Crutcher and Samuel Kaleleiki filed in the Circuit Court of the Third Circuit a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief against the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Accounting and General Services and the Department of Land and Natural Resources today. Thanks to Professor Williamson Chang of the Richardson’s School of Law, this complaint will be a historic challenge to the reopening of the prison at Kulani.
For more information, contact:
Mr. Palikapu Dedman, Tel. 808-959-4930, or
Mr. Ronald Fujiyoshi, Tel. 808-959-9775; or 808-345-9688
