There’s always room for some hope

Apparently, smart people think that the nation’s current prison system is pretty dumb.

That can be deduced, perhaps, from the nomination to an all-star list of a criminal-justice reform that was developed in Hawaii.

What’s known here as Project HOPE (Honest Opportunity Probation with Enforcement) has made the "Top 25 Innovations in Government" as chosen by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. That’s part of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. HOPE is a kind of scared-straight approach: Drug offenders get probation but then are slapped with a brief sentence if they reoffend.

Kudos — again — to state Circuit Judge Steven Alm, who developed the strategy and continues getting praise from experts in this field.