MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACTS
Carrie Ann Shirota, Policy Director, 808-269-3858
Salmah Y. Rizvi, Executive Director, 808-723-9794
February 7, 2025
ACLU of Hawai‘i Alarmed by Most Recent Death at OCCC Calls for DCR Public Reporting
HONOLULU, HI – The ACLU of Hawaiʻi (“ACLU-HI”) is alarmed by the news of yetanother death of an incarcerated person, Eric A. Scotton, under the supervision of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“DCR”). The ongoing pattern of violence within DCR-supervised facilities demands that swift action be taken.
For years, ACLU-HI has been calling for systemic reforms within the correctional system operated by DCR (previously, the Department of Public Safety).
ACLU of Hawai‘i Executive Director, Salmah Y. Rizvi, remarked that:
Incarcerated neighbors at the Oahu Community Correctional Center (“OCCC”) have been enduring abhorrent conditions for far too long. Compounded by the lack of sufficient staffing, this most recent tragedy is a solemn reminder that our public safety system is killing people. In this case, a pretrial detainee – a man who had not yet been convicted of a crime – should have never been punished, let alone killed. He was entitled to protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.
ACLU of Hawai‘i Policy Director, Carrie Ann Shirota added:
Too many people inside our jails are pretrial status, and experiencing houselessness, poverty, mental health conditions and co-occurring disorders. ACLU of Hawai’i and many community-based organizations have been calling on the State of Hawai’i to focus on systemic reforms and investments in diversion infrastructure and bail reform to reduce the number of people in our jails who do© 2025 ACLU Hawai‘i not belong there. The uptick in suicides, assaults, and murders in our jails over the past few years warrants a systems-wide investigation.
ACLU of Hawai‘i urges swift action by DCR and the Honolulu Police Department for answers to this most recent tragedy. Additionally, we urge DCR to abide by the reporting requirements set forth in ACT 22 (2023) and provide the public with information on this incident to their website (https://dcr.hawaii.gov/notification-of-inmate-death-in-a-psd-facility/) within the time period required by law.
The ACLU of Hawai‘i mourns the unjust and tragic loss of Mr. Scotton and will continue to advocate for reforms at OCCC and within DCR.
###
The mission of the Hawai‘i affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union is to protect the civil
liberties contained in the state and federal constitutions through litigation, legislation, and
public education programs. The ACLU is funded primarily through private donations and
offers its services at no cost to the public. The ACLU does not accept any government funds.