Sixty miles West of Phoenix, in the middle of cotton fields and the hot Arizona sun, stand Saguaro and Red Rock Prison. Close to 2,000 Hawaii inmates are counting their years.

"I'm here for doing 17 out of 20 for armed robbery," said one inmate.

And they are hoping to one day get a second chance.

"It doesn't take me 12 years to realize that I made a mistake," said Inmate Allwyn Williams.

For the first time ever, three state senators and KGMB9 got to see how Hawaii's inmates are serving their time in Arizona.

Senators Clarence Nishihara, Norman Sakamoto and Will Espero toured Saguaro with the warden.

The prison built specifically for Hawaii inmates opened at the end of June at a price tag of $95 million-- a forth of what it would've cost the State to build on Oahu.

"Ultimately we in the legislature, we fund everything that is going on here," said Sen. Espero. "And that's why it’s important for us to be here to see what's working and what's not working and to hear from you."

Inmates listened intently to what the Senators had to say and inmates spoke their minds.

"As for me, yeah I did what I did but its not 'what' I did, it's 'who' I was when I did what I did, as opposed to who I am now," said one inmate to the senators.

"I like know how that help society, how that help overcrowding, by putting one guy back in jail for ten years when what he needs is drug treatment," said another inmate.

For $50 million a year, Hawaii has contracted CCA, Corrections Corporation of America, to oversee our inmates on the mainland and create programs that aim towards rehabilitation.

"You do the crime, you do the time...that's the constant thing you do here," said Sen. Nishihara. "But once the times up, you are back. What you don't want to happen is they come back again, again and again."

Out of about 1,400 inmates at Saguaro, 100 are taking classes, over 800 have jobs, but only a fraction, 232, of the inmates are in substance abuse treatment, even though the majority have drug problems. Treatment is available, but space is limited.

"There are programs to all offenders if they want it, but we can not provide those programs simultaneously," said Tommy Johnson, of Hawaii State Department of Public Safety.

And the state said not all drug offenders want help.

"I feel I don't need the treatment," said admitted ice user Tiolu Lono.

"You don't need treatment?" asked KGMB9 Reporter Sabrina Hall.

"No," he said.

What many inmates said they do want are real skills for the real world.

"What programs do you think will help you successfully reintegrate back into the community?," asked Reentry Expert Carrie Ann Shirota.

"Vocational...air-conditioning, woodworking, electrical," answered the inmates.

"We have got the electrical and carpentry, and we are working towards a plumbing class for reentry, so the inmates have a chance to get in with the trade unions and get a meaningful job," said Saguaro Warden Daren Swenson.

We took a visit to the woodworking room and stopped by the electrical class.

"These guys need another chance...these guys need a chance," said the teacher, Alfred Fineburg.

It was the first day of school for GED students.

"Science, social studies, math and reading, so they are improving their skills to pass the GED," said the teacher.

Down the hall, inmates were picking out their weekly book at their new library.

"When someone borrows one book, they bring 'em over here and I sign their name," said Inmate Lawrence Williams who works in the library. "I stamp 'em with this and I put 'em on the alphabetical order."

The goal of Saguaro is to keep inmates productively busy.

"We need programs otherwise they sit in their cells," said Sen. Sakamoto.

"My name is Victor and I've been in prison for quite awhile," said one inmate to the senators.

"How many years if you don't mind me asking," asked Sen. Espero.

"Eighteen years," he answered.

Some said prison time is hard time and it shouldn't be wasted.

After the tour, lawmakers agreed more programs are still needed at Saguora.

CCA said more will be up-and-running in the coming months.

Part 2: Hawaii Prisoners Keep in Touch with Roots
Behind the Walls - Prison Tour; KGMB9.com Extra

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