Hawaii pays $800,000 after a jail intern cleared a detainee who then hanged himself
Jimuel Gatioan, 49, a pretrial detainee at the Oahu Community Correctional Center, was found hanging in his cell on March 28, 2023, and died April 4, after defense and prosecution lawyers had warned the jail he was a suicide risk. His family's lawyer says the risk assessment that cleared him was done by a student intern through a slot in a locked cell door with two cellmates present, though jail protocols require a licensed practitioner and a confidential setting, and that one of two assigned guards was absent when cellmates called for help. The state agreed in March 2026 to pay $800,000; lawmakers approved it May 26, 2026, alongside $600,000 for another prisoner's death. The Attorney General's office said settlements do not admit liability. No staff discipline or case-specific policy change has been reported.
Jail protocols require that a licensed mental health practitioner do that assessment, he said.
Less than a week later, on April 4, 2023, his dead body was found hanging in his cell.
His death came one week after both his defense attorney ― Jonathan Burge ― and the deputy prosecutor on his assault case ― Benjamin Rose ― warned the jail that Gatioan was suicidal.
Mrs. Gatioan notified both the prosecutor and Mr. Gatioan's defense attorney who both made phone calls to the facility warning it that Mr. Gatioan was a suicide risk.
Through the Attorney General's office: settlements do not admit liability or wrongdoing.
Not yet contacted for this story.
No outcome recorded yet.