State corrections officials refuse to reveal who has died behind bars, saying medical privacy laws prohibit disclosure.

A law passed in 2017 required the state to provide convicts with identification upon release to help them manage on the outside.

Beyond Guilt is set to open in 2022 with the goal of helping former and currently incarcerated people with clemency, compassionate release, parole, and clearing criminal records.

Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm called the decision “a significant victory for public safety,” saying that Covid-19 vaccines and testing have reduced the risk for inmates.

The position of coordinator to help investigate prison and jail conditions could be posted as early as next week.

Supreme Court justices signaled they may order corrections officials to make reports every 90 days on pretrial jail inmates.

Oahu Community Correctional Center remains the site of the largest coronavirus outbreak in state jails and prisons.

But prison officials say they already comply with a 2019 law that requires reviews of all pretrial detainees every three months.

Crowded conditions in state-run jails are aggravating the spread of Covid-19, but the portable cells have been no help so far.

The prosecutor and corrections officials say the releases aren’t needed to reduce the spread of Covid-19 because inmates now have access to vaccines.