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HCCC tops mistaken releases
By ALAN FRAM, LISA MASCARO
EUGENE NG, M.D. HARVEY YANG, O.D.
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inmates were mistakenly
released from Hawaii jails
and prisons with 16 — more
than two-thirds — released
from Hawaii Community
Correctional Center.
, (808) 969-1419
SEMINAR
77 MOHOULI ST.
(808) 935-6011
Andrew Iwashita
Trust Estate Attorney
Index
Big Isle History C3
Classified C7
Commentary A8
Crossword C6
Issue No. 280
24 Pages in
3 Sections
Today’s
weather
Page A2
Dear Abby C6
Horoscope C6
Nation A4
Obituaries A2
Spending Well C4
Sports B1
Surf report A2
Travel C1
Tropical
Gardening C3
Volcano Watch C2
World A9
Since March 2013, 23
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According to the state
Department of Public Safety,
nine of those erroneous releases,
and six on the Big Island,
occurred this year, including
the release of an alleged killer.
“We acknowledge that
procedural improvement is
needed for the current system
in the 3rd Circuit Court,”
Department of
Public Safety
spokeswoman
Toni Schwartz
said Wednesday,
referring to the
Big Island. “The
Department
of Public Safety is committed
to working collaboratively
with our Judicial
partner on this effort.”
The problem came to
a head on July 26 when
the department announced
that police and sheriffs’
deputies were looking for
Brian Lee Smith, a pretrial
detainee facing a second-degree
murder charge, after
a “mistaken release” two
days earlier from HCCC.
Smith, who has a Jan.
8 trial date in Kona for the
fatal shooting of Thomas
Ballesteros Jr., turned himself
in to police the same
night. He had returned to
Kona from the Hilo jail after
authorities set him free.
Smith’s mistaken release
and a manhunt that ensued
occurred shortly after police
tracked down and fatally
shot fugitive cop-killer
Justin Waiki, who shot
and killed Puna Patrol
Officer Bronson Kalimai
July 17 beside Highway
11 in Mountain View.
Of state’s 23 accidental inmate releases
since 2013, BI facility responsible for 16
Kavanaugh
sworn to
high court
President praises judge for
being ‘able to withstand
this horrible, horrible attack’
WASHINGTON — Brett Kavanaugh
was sworn in as the 114th justice of the U.S.
Supreme Court, after a wrenching
debate over sexual misconduct and
judicial temperament that shattered
the Senate, captivated the nation
and ushered in an acrimonious
new level of polarization — now
encroaching on the court that the
53-year-old judge may well swing
rightward for decades to come.
Even as Kavanaugh took his oath of office
Saturday evening in a quiet private ceremony,
not long after the narrowest Senate
confirmation in nearly a century and a half,
protesters chanted outside the court building
across the street from the Capitol.
The climactic 50-48 roll call capped a fight
that seized the national conversation after
claims emerged that he had sexually assaulted
women three decades ago — allegations he
emphatically denied. Those accusations transformed
the clash from a routine struggle over
judicial ideology into an angry jumble of questions
about victims’ rights, the presumption of
innocence and personal attacks on nominees.
His confirmation provides a defining accomplishment
for President Donald Trump and
the Republican Party, which found a unifying
force in the cause of putting a new conservative
majority on the court. Before the sexual
accusations grabbed the Senate’s and the
nation’s attention, Democrats had argued that
Kavanaugh’s rulings and writings as an appeals
court judge raised serious concerns about his
views on abortion rights and a president’s right
TIM WRIGHT/Special to the Tribune-Herald
Jennifer Gonzales stages Lennox, a Shetland sheepdog, during Saturday’s Orchid Isle Dog Fancier Club
All-Breed Dog Show held at the Edith Kanaka’ole Multi-Purpose Stadium.
Gone to the dogs
Dogs of all shapes in sizes
are competing for best in
show and other awards at
the Orchid Isle Dog Fancier
Club competition in Hilo.
The annual All-Breed Dog
Show, which finishes today, is
held at the Edith Kanaka‘ole
Multi-Purpose Stadium, where
participants are happy to see it
go to the dogs for the weekend.
Lei Taft, club president, said
dogs are judged on how they
conform to the standards of their
breed. She said it takes a lot
of hard work and dedication to
compete, as shown by the wellgroomed
and trained animals.
“It’s a huge commitment,”
Taft said.
“You have to love dogs to do
this obviously,” she later added.
“Exercising your dog, training
your dog, all those things all kind
of come into play. And some
dogs require a lot of care.”
See RELEASES Page A5
Annual All-Breed
Dog Show to wrap
up competition today
By TOM CALLIS
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
See DOGS Page A6
By JOHN BURNETT
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
SMITH
KAVANAUGH
and MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press
See KAVANAUGH Page A6
Happy
return for
Waveriders
SPORTS, B1
/www.hawaiitribune-herald.com