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Inmate sues state and prison guards fired for beating him

A state prison inmate whose beating at Halawa Correctional Facility was captured by a prison surveillance camera is suing the state and the three prison guards who were fired for beating him.

The beating happened June 16, 2009.

The three former prison guards are Puifatu Fiso Jr., Darren Kaneaiakala and Allen Tevaga. All three pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault. None of them was sentenced to any jail time.

The video shows Fiso and Kaneaiakala cornering inmate Joseph Tui in a cell and punching him. It also shows Tevaga kicking Tui in the head while Tui is on the floor.

The state said the prison guards entered Tui’s cell after Tui demanded getting a mattress.

His lawyer, Myles Breiner, said Tui was in an isolation cell on safety watch at the time because of mental illness.

Tui is serving a 10-year prison term for first-degree burglary.

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