Hawaiian prisoners in Mississippi town
In a
Newsday
piece,
L.A.
Times writer Ellen Barry shares the sad tale
of a depressed Mississippi town whose economic salvation is the import of
Hawaiian prisoners. I'm not sure how many of the inmates are Kanaka Maoli, but
probably many or most of them, since they are so vastly over-represented in the
prison population here. A reflection of an imposed unjust economic system
combined with an imposed unjust justice system. Interesting side note, the
guards weren't sure if the inmates would speak English, which can be seen as
condescending or simply ignorant, but at any rate it shows again the perception
that Hawaii is another country, which turns out to be correct anyway. (Thanks to
Ian Lind for blogging attention to
this article.)
Posted: Mon - June 14, 2004 at 02:48 PM