HNN broke this story last week.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/08/04/man-forced-remain-hawaii-state-hospital-more-than-2-years-because-mistaken-identity/
HPD dropped the ball on this case.
But.....
On the plus side, the homeless guy got free room and board for 3 years.
The sister is eyeballing a fat lawsuit so NOW she wants to take in her homeless brother ....He'll be her cash cow.
The dude is better off now than he would have been otherwise. He's not living on the street any more.
Sounds like a win for everybody except us taxpayers.
If you've spent 2 minutes in the Hawaii mental hospital, you'd know it's worse than most punishments you could inflict on anyone.
My Ex got a job there for about 3 months. Rats everywhere, property overgrown with vegetation, buildings dilapidated and falling apart, every piece of furniture and equipment hand-me-downs from other state offices, and patients who can't be controlled when they have violent outbursts.
It took her being attacked and injured 3 times to quit -- and she was in administration! Some of the patients were 3 times her size, so there's no chance she could fend off one when they decide to act up.
Many of the mentally ill are simply sent to jail where they get no treatment at all, but I'm not sure the environment is any worse in jail.
When the guy was misidentified as another man already in jail in Alaska, and the state of Hawaii, with all its resources, refused to even make the smallest effort to verify his identity, it highlights the reason you should never trust government. No matter how many laws and "studies" they do, it's the low-level office worker who implements the policies. If they do no more than what is required of them in their small part of the system, then the system will remain broken.