Pod Squad: Why Does Hawaii Have So Many People Behind Bars?

A new task force makes clear that the state has had the wrong criminal justice policy for the past 40 years.

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Bob Merce, a board member of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., helped author a 2018 task force report calling for the state to focus far more on rehabilitation rather than punishment when it comes to Hawaii’s criminal justice system.

Merce joins host Chad Blair on the Pod Squad to talk about recommendations from the report and how they might be turned into legislation this year.

Bob Merce, a board member of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., holds a copy of the HCR 85 task force report on criminal justice reform. Chad Blair/Civil Beat/2019

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