Family seeks answers in personal tragedy
This letter comes as we remember the painful unresolved death of our relative, an inmate at Kauai Community Correctional Center, who perished in there last Nov. 21, 2016.
The wounds we suffered as a family have neither diminished nor healed, and as this first year passes we confront an event that can never be erased from our family history. When our relative, Greg Silva, died of a meth overdose four days after being placed in solitary confinement, it was determined that he deserved no news coverage, nor did we receive any follow-up on the particulars, such as the death report or autopsy of this tragic circumstance.
Why we bring this matter to the attention of the community after a year is because there continues to be a lack of transparency in our correctional facility. This incident could happen to anyone’s loved one who might be incarcerated. Many of our islanders may, at any given time, find themselves on the wrong side of the law and funneled in our facility. If their personal well-being is threatened, we must correct this.
As a family, as we approach this painful date, we have confidence that this community will identify with our requests for answers in our personal tragedy.
Our family will gather to remember the memory of our loved one, Greg Silva, and seek healing through the demand for answers on how this tragedy occurred. Doing so will provide the justice system a vehicle to bring accountability to us, his family, and to stop this from happening to others by correcting the weaknesses in the prison system.
We are working with Kauai Alliance for Peace and Social Justice to bring a formal inquiry with the leaders of Kauai’s justice system to discuss solutions. This will be followed by the recently released documentary, “Out of State,” about the private prison facility in Eloy, Arizona, where Hawaii’s extended-sentence inmates are housed away from their families.
Our goal is restorative justice, a change to the procedure in the event of an inmate death and an important community conversation on over-incarceration in a period of lowest crime rate in four decades. Announcements will be posted.
Henrietta Napolis, Hanalei
