The suspected beating death of an inmate waiting for trial at Oahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC), followed by the discovery of a trove of contraband held by inmates, painfully demonstrate that life-threatening conditions and corruption continue to plague the facility.

The apparent criminal activity within OCCC should be a blaring alarm for the newly appointed warden of OCCC, and a clarion call to state officials to undertake a full housecleaning, sweeping out all opportunity for wrongdoing by inmates or corrections staff and eliminating the conditions that would allow a first-degree murder to take place inside a jail — in particular, a jail holding those who remain legally innocent of their crimes as they await trial.

Christopher Vaefaga, 36, was set to go to trial next month on charges of second-degree assault and harassment from a March incident. He had children who hoped to see him again on the outside. But on July 6, Vaefaga was found unresponsive in his cell, with apparent head injuries, and never regained consciousness, despite police efforts to revive him. He was pronounced dead in his cell that evening.

A jail sweep following Vaefaga’s death turned up an eye-opening pile of contraband in the facility, including methamphetamines and syringes, drug capsules and steroids, vapes and burner cell phones.

This violent, and blatant, criminal activity within the walls of a correctional facility raises alarms that should reach Tommy Johnson, head of the Hawaii Department of Public Safety (DPS), and Gov. Josh Green, who must demand reforms.

OCCC’s new warden, John Schell, must also move quickly to root out corrupt behavior and bolster safety protocols. Schell, who was selected for the job by DPS just over a month before Vaefaga’s death, has 20 years of correctional experience at the Oregon Department of Corrections, and must use all of that experience and gleaned knowledge to enforce reform.

Revelations of wrongdoing at OCCC have erupted at various times in recent years, with little indication that the underlying problems were addressed in between each scandal.

>> Late last year, officials confiscated 86 pounds of illegal aerial fireworks sent to an OCCC corrections officer through the U.S. mail, in the name of an inmate who was not even at the facility. The discovery was made because of a tip by a U.S. Postal Service inspector — but had that tip not come in, would the contraband have been intercepted? DPS launched an internal investigation, but no results have been revealed.

>> In 2020, corrections officer Jon Estabilio Jr. of Honolulu was charged with federal crimes including possessing contraband in prison and and bribery of public officials after he was found at OCCC with several packs of cigarettes, lighters, tattoo kits and 16 small baggies containing meth.

>> In 2017, a OCCC guard was reportedly suspected of trying to smuggle drugs and a cell phone into Module 13, which held murder suspects Dae Han Moon and Lance Bermudez.

This continued wrongdoing must be put to an end. The state must undertake a thorough evaluation of DPS staff, both on standards measures of review such as reliability and dedication, but also to uncover whether there is a culture of corruption within OCCC and beyond. With in-contact visits banned at OCCC since 2016, staffers are a likely conduit for illicit items.

The state’s Department of the Attorney General will also have a part to play in this scrutiny. The AG’s department is in charge of the current investigation into Vaefaga’s death, and this must be thorough and wide-ranging. Two men housed with Vaefaga are suspected of the crime, but assigning blame for the act isn’t enough. Module 13, the unit holding Vaefaga, is known to house violent gang members. Are better housing procedures and security needed?

So far, DPS has declined to give any further information, “to preserve the integrity of the investigations.” When these investigations are concluded, DPS must disclose all findings to the public — and outline necessary improvements in corrections protocols.