Matthew J. Ornellas Jr., a 33-year-old inmate, escaped from Kauai Community Correctional Center in Hawaii, only to be struck by a vehicle soon after fleeing, resulting in serious injuries that led to his death. He was a minimum-security inmate serving time for a drug conviction. The escape involved scaling a fence with razor wire, with correctional officers losing sight of him before the accident. The incident is under investigation by the Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The driver of the vehicle that hit Ornellas fled the scene.
Inmate Matthew J. Ornellas Jr., serving time for a drug charge at Kauai Community Correctional Center, escaped the facility by scaling a razor-wire fence and was hit by a vehicle on Kuhio Highway soon after, sustaining serious injuries. The driver fled the scene, and authorities are searching for them. Ornellas remains hospitalized in serious condition and in police custody. The correctional facility offers various programs but faces challenges due to aging infrastructure. John Calma, a public defender, represents Ornellas, who is a minimum-custody inmate. The incident highlights issues with Hawaii\'s correctional facilities.
An inmate in Idaho, Skylar Meade, escaped custody at a hospital after a planned attack where a suspect ambushed officers, injuring two. The attack occurred during Meade\'s return to jail from medical treatment for self-injurious behavior. One officer is in critical but stable condition, another has serious injuries, and a third officer was injured by Boise police. The incident was described as a brazen and coordinated attack by Idaho Department of Corrections personnel. The suspects, Nicholas Umphenour and Meade, were last seen in a gray sedan.
The scheduled execution of Thomas Creech, a convicted serial killer in Idaho, was stopped after multiple unsuccessful attempts to insert an intravenous line for the lethal injection. Despite eight failed IV insertion attempts, Creech did not display severe pain during the process. Idaho Department of Corrections director mentioned uncertainty about next steps. Creech, sentenced for killing his cellmate in 1981, was to be the first person executed in Idaho in 12 years. This incident adds to a series of botched executions in the U.S., including a recent failed attempt in Alabama.
A medical biller named Matthew James has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for his involvement in a massive insurance fraud scheme. James posed as NBA player Marcus Smart and other patients to harass insurance companies for payments that were not due. He was convicted of fraud and identity theft charges and accused of bilking insurance companies out of hundreds of millions of dollars. James ran medical billing companies and used tactics such as scheduling elective surgeries via emergency rooms and billing for procedures that were different from the ones actually performed. He pretended to be outraged patients or policyholders when insurance claims were rejected. Marcus Smart, who had hand surgery in 2018, testified at James\' trial that he was upset by the impersonation and concerned it would damage his reputation as a role model. Another victim of James\' scheme was NFL lawyer and executive Jeff Pash. James was described as a caring and decent person, but his lawyer said he developed a drinking problem due to stress from his work and family responsibilities.
A Oklahoma judge ruled that 61-year-old James Ryder, a death row inmate, is not competent to be executed for the 1999 slayings of a mother and son due to his psychotic disorder of schizophrenia. Experts for Ryder\'s defense testified to his inability to understand the reason for execution, leading to the court\'s decision. Ryder faced death for beating Daisy Hallum to death and life without parole for killing her son. The court ordered evaluation by the Department of Corrections and Mental Health Services. The Attorney General is disappointed but aims to restore Ryder\'s competence for justice.
This image provided by the Georgia Department of Corrections shows inmate Willie James Pye. A judge on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, signed the order for the execution of Pye, who was convicted of murder and other crimes in the November 1993 killing of Alicia Lynn Yarbrough. The execution is set for March 20 at 7 p.m.
A transgender-identifying male, Bryan Kim, was discovered engaging in sexual activity with a female inmate at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. This incident violated prison rules and policies, resulting in an infraction. Washington DOC\'s gender-inclusion policy allowed Kim, previously incarcerated in a men\'s facility, to be transferred to the women\'s prison. Consensual sex among incarcerated individuals is not technically allowed, but mitigated sanctions may apply if both parties claim consent. The Prison Rape Elimination Act prohibits non-coerced sexual activity in prisons, and the incident is under investigation.
This list includes all state prisons used by the state of Hawaii. It does not include federal prisons located in the U.S. state of Hawaii.
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