New stripes

Striped uniforms reminiscent of the black-and-white prison garb of an era long past are now being issued at Hawaii’s largest prison facility.

Halawa Correctional Facility’s warden requested and got the change in prison-issued garments in summer 2013 for some classes of inmates to distinguish them from guards and medical staffers wearing solid-color uniforms and scrubs, said Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Toni Schwartz. The switch to stripes is now permanent.

Stripes can expedite identification of an out-of-place inmate, Schwartz said.

Even so, Hawaii-based Community Alliance on Prisons Coordinator Kat Brady calls the practice "outrageous and regressive."

Horizontally striped "badge of shame" uniforms were first issued to inmates in Albany, N.Y., in the 1820s. The practice was scrapped about 100 years later when prison reforms called for more dignified uniforms and rehabilitation opportunities for nonviolent offenders.

"Self-esteem is crucial for somebody to successfully reintegrate, so when you treat somebody like an animal and let him out into the community with absolutely no self-image, this is not helpful," Brady said.

"The fact that Hawaii is going backwards is unbelievable to me."

At Halawa, orange jumpsuits remain standard for maximum-security inmates. For other inmates, blue, green, red and black stripes on white have replaced solid-colored prison uniforms. Halawa is the only Hawaii prison or jail to use striped prison clothes.

Brady said some inmates’ family members have said the new uniform resembles a clown suit. "People are really outraged and they’re wondering what is going on," she said.

Schwartz said the Public Safety director approved the change for the safety of the staff, inmates and the community.

Halawa is not the only correctional facility opting for stripes. In Michigan, Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel recently swapped orange jumpsuits for black-and-white stripes due to the rise in popularity of the Netflix TV prison show "Orange is the New Black."

Federspiel told Reuters the move was prompted by a juror who recently wore all orange during a trial.

"For me, it was an easy decision," he told Reuters. "It was a cost savings and it breaks away from that cultural coolness. It’s not cool to be an inmate of the Saginaw County Jail."