>> i think that at sixteen it's a little too early to write him off for life. >> should they be locked away for good? >> he had a tough upbringing but he still had to have known right from wrong. on "america tonight" - signs of vicious and relentless rebel fighters in striking range of baghdad. can the army the u.s. trained to secure iraq stand up and get the job done also tonight an abuse of fate. >> i ran. bob jones university, an influential christian college - young women who were sexually

assaulted find themselves under scrutiny. sara hoy investigates the accusations against the accusers. and the tough guy judge behind a novel approach to crime and punishment. can keeping convicts out of prison save them from a life of crime? >> we have research showing people in hope are arrested for new crimes half as often as people on probation. justice hawaii style and why mainland judges are looking to the islands to see how it's working. good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm joie chen. there are new signals that the iraqi prime minister is bowing to pressure from the united states to seek a political path to peace.

as rebel fighters continue a push to claim more the country. prime minister nouri al-maliki appealed for national unity. that could win support from president obama, who meets with congressional leaders on wednesday to discuss the next steps in iraq. with reports of explosion, and executions in the capital baghdad, and rebel fighters within striking distance, time is running out. our reporting on iraq in turmoil begins with "america tonight"'s sheila macvicar. >> reporter: a car bomb in a crowded central market killed 10. the mast in a shi'ite neighbourhood adding to fears of ruthless and spreading sectarian killing. giugni fighters of the islamic state of iraq and levant, i.s.i.l., joined by tribesman, former military officers and others disaffected with the shia dominated government of nouri al-maliki now control a growing swath of territory squadling

syria and iraq. effectively erasing the international border between the two states. they have quickly and easily taken control of mosul and tikrit. only in the last 24 hours have they met resistance. battling for cities to the east. bakuva is important, sitting on the road to baghdad. 37 miles from the capital. last night in a bakuba prison, 60 sunni prisons, mostly i.s.i.l. prisoners, were kill. they were executed, say source, by shia militia. this comes a day after i.s.i.l. was accused of executing their prisoners, actions described as war crimes. >> i'm deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in iraq, including the reporting of mass summary executions by islamic

state of iraq and levant, i.s.i.l. there is a real risk of for the sectarian violence on a mass if scale, within iraq and beyond its borders. in baghdad a city divided between shia and sunni suburbs - soldiers patrol the streets. if iraq's army is standing up to the i.s.i.l., it's due to the huge influx of shia volunteers. thousands that answered the call to farms from their revered cleric. >> translation: we came to by uniforms, boots, equip ourselves and be prepared and ready. we don't want to wait for the army to supply us. this may take time. >> reporter: they are arming themselves. in two days the price of guns have doubled and automatic weapons virtually disappeared from the market. the i.s.i.l. gained more than

territory. iraqi army units melted away, soldiers desserting in the tens of thousands, leaving equipment behind - all of it. >> translation: they had weapons from kalashnikovs to tanks, modern american weapons and russian. there was ammunition depots. three civilian and american depots. this fell into the hands. armed group. >> reporter: today prime minister nouri al-maliki fired some of his top commanders. in spite of urging uncommon agreements in washington and tehran, he belatedly reached sunnis who might be persuaded to back his government. the spokesman saying this is war, not time for reconciliation. sheila macvicar back with us on the set. can we talk more about this. the comment from nouri al-maliki... >> strong words. >> very strong words.

>> he hit out at the saudi arabia royal family, accusing them of funding i.s.i.l. there's no evidence that the saudi arabia leadership is funding, but there's no question that saudi arabia individuals are. he was unrepentant towards the saudi arabias. >> joining us is our correspondent there, can we talk about prime minister nouri al-maliki, his position and strength. using strong language to talk about others, can you talk about his strength in town and at home? >> yes, i think the prime minister feels emboldened. he was taken by surprise when the fighters of islamic state of iraq and levant overtook the second-largest city of mosul. now he has tens of thousands of volunteers marching to join iraqi army forces to liberate

the areas from sunni rebels. he feels that you had the upper hand. remember he's the one that won the most seats in personal. he's popular with his community. he's a polarizing figure. we are seeing that this emboldened him to talk, to speak with the other components of the political spec trump. we had a late development in the last 15 minutes or so. he met with political leaders. i think he's in a position to tell the political leaders that "i am powerful. however, we need to sit together and sort this out." >> omaha, sheila macvicar, in meeting with the political leaders, did he include sunni leaders? >> yes, he did, the former

speaker of parliament was present at that meeting, where other shia leaders were present, as well as kurds. they made a statement and called on the iraqsy people to unite -- iraqi people to unite and leave the sectarian violence aside and not to practice sectarian violence, because he returnabled all iraqis that this is a critical time for the country. interesting in the statement that the leaders made is that they need to continue talking to try and sort the differences, and adhere to the political unity, and also to the integrity of the country. there's a promising sign that at least they are meeting. i don't know if it will reflect or stop the violence that is going on.

remember, the crisis now is edging iraq towards an all-out civil war. in baghdad, can you talk about what is expected over the next few days, what you are hearing on the ground there? >> nouri al-maliki sacked top leaders in charge. army in missual, and said they -- mosul and said they failed to carry out the national duty, he is building up, trying to root out rebels from different cities, including tick rit and mosul. with this political development. he feels he has the upper hand. he is emboldened by the increasing numbers of volunteers to protect the importance religious shrines in this country. there are tens of thousands who vowed to protect iraq from what they described as the terrorist campaign to topple the

government. al jazeera correspondent omar al saleh, and "america tonight"'s sheila macvicar with us. thank you both. in some cities the iraqi fighters are dropping arms and fleeing. four-star army general jack keen, credited for helping to design the u.s. surge, thank you for being here. in the last few hours nouri al-maliki appearing sunni critics, uncomfortably, awkwardly. is it enough to bring the u.s. into pore of an assertive position militarily, to assist or prop up the government? >> i don't think nouri al-maliki will make the political concessions that are desired. we have it a little mixed up. we want political concessions with him. the fact of the matter is we have to act militarily first,

giving us the leverage over nouri al-maliki and the other parts of the government who come to our side. it gives us a leverage and seat at the tablement that's the order we should do this. >> so what extent militarily - air power, intelligence, drones? >> specific things that could be done to provide assistance. in 2011, when we left, all of the intelligence sources that we had were no longer provided to nouri al-maliki. we have to return the architecture. the lights went blank in 2011. we have to turn the lights on. we'll own the systems. he'll are the benefit of the intelligence. he needs people to think through the console kated defense of bag -- consolidated defense of baghdad, and challenging is the offensive to take back the north-west. then they need advisors in the subdivision, organization, these

are those on the ground thinking through their challenges. we need special operators to work on high value targets of the i.s.i. s targetting their lead exercise deep targets. where we base those, no one needs to know. would americans be at risk, sure. they have done this routinely, they did it in iraq. lastly is air power. to intradict supplies and bases and lines of communication in syria and northern iraq. to help you do that we need isr intelligence surveillance reconnaissance - unmanned and manned - to acquire those targets. inside iraq, where the battle is fought and will be fought intensely in the future, i.s.f. - iraqi security forces,

with i.s.i. f forces - we need air crowned controllers with iraqi units to facilitate the use of aircraft. >> you are talking serious commit: are you sure that the iraqi force, with this support, will stand in place? >> it's a great question. >> what we are seeing now is the resistance is stiffening. in the last couple of days talla far - there has been a 2.5 day battle. iraqi security forces stood and have been fighting for two days. there has been a day-long battle in bakuba. the provincial capital. long fights. i'm not suggesting to you that the entire iraqi security forces will behave like these two units. we have to be encouraged by it given what we saw in the days prior. there's issues to be sure with the i.s.f.

listen, you have american airpower working for you and you see that every day. that helps to stiffen your resolve. air and ground coordination together. it has a psychological impact on your opponent. >> we appreciate you being here, thank you so much. when we return - inside iraqi kurdistan, the other major faction controlling key parts of the increasingly fractured iraq. >> with neither side willing to comprom i say... >> faultline's josh joins us with a look at the kuds, their strong -- kurd, their strong whole and economy and the rebel fighters digital campaign. a high-tech approach the i.s.i.l. is using to win hearts and minds in iraq.

we continue our reporting on iraq in turmoil, as we consider one of the other key players in iraq, the kurds. when the rebel i.s.i. s fighters threatened kirkuk. more than 100,000 kurdish fighters, pesh mergas came to their defense and won control. a sign of the kurds gaining control and power in iraq and the region. al jazeera's "fault line" correspondent josh travelled to

kurdistan four years ago. >> reporter: if kirkuk is a battle ground the preez is beneath us. 25% of iraq's oil is here, enough for the natural resource bonanza to fuel an independent kurdistan. a fact that is keenly aware. with neither side to compromise, kirkuk may be the fault lines that iraq's future depends on. the pesh merga, meaning ready to die, were born from the ottoman empire, they fought four independence for iran and iraq. the constitution allows for the guards like the pesh merga, which claims to have 60 to 70,000 troops. this force is intended to guard against more than threats to the nation of iraq. >> translation: we are not afraid of the iraqi army, but

afraid of how it is managed. that it may not be used to establish freedom and democracy, but to eliminate others. history shows it's been used to intimidate people. especially those in kurdistan. josh joins us now, let's talk about the kurds and where they are. they have gained ground of their own. >> they have. they are survivors. they had to be survivors, and had their eye op kirkuk. they have taken it over demographically, moving families down there, taking over the police force. this presented an opportunity as the iraqi army moved out for the peshmerga to set up security around the city. >> turned out not to be a fight. >> there was no fight. the iraqi army had left. and i.s.i.l. hadn't arrived.

kirkuk holds a significant amount of oil, and that leads to money, economy and independence for the srg. from baghdad though, prime minister nouri al-maliki has an opportunity to negotiate with the kurds. >> it's a rare opportunity where the u.s. and iran tell nouri al-maliki you have to talk to two groups - the sunnis and the kurds. nouri al-maliki came out and accused the kurds of colluding with the i.s.i.l. he had a chip to play. he cut off revenue to kurds, the federal funds in january because the kurds started to ship out their own oil through turkey, and are keeping the proceeds for themselves. nouri al-maliki could play a card saying he'll turn on the revenues if peshmergaa takes the eastern flak of i.s.i.l. he is playing an opposite card, accusing them of commuting with the -- colluding with the enemy.

>> in turn, they can offer turkish support. >> what the kurds want is independence. they are working towards that. they are getting 150,000 barrels of oil a day. they hope to be up to 400,000 from oil fields inside the kurdize part of iran. if they get up to 400,000, they no longer need the support from baghdad. kirkuk will get them over the numbers, there's infrastructure issues getting the oil from kirkuk it the kurdish pipeline. turkey has been a player, allowing them to build the pipe line and sell the oil through international markets. turkey benefits by getting cheeper oil from the neighbour. can the kurds say "we want our region and territory and don't care what the i.s.i.l. is doing, that's their problem in baghdad." >> this is a strategy.

they have been prepared for iraq to disintegrate. if that happened they would grab kirkuk and stake a claim saying the krg and the bill are safe and peaceful. they have their own economy. and don't need to be part of what is happening south of them. as i.s.i.l. takes over towns and cities, a digital producer explains how they are employing a digital strategy to spread their message, win recruits and claim legitimacy. >> on monday, a group known as i.s.i.l. claimed it executed 1700 soldiers in tikrit. a claim that they are trying to verify. it has not stopped the photos spreading online.

>> the photos appeared on twitter, linked to the group. it's an example of spreading islamic law using 21st century tools. >> author and intelligence analyst jm berger spent the last year tracking the group and supporters online. >> on sunday they put out a message saying "we are coming to baghdad." the message had a picture of one of their fighters looking out at the i.s.i. s flag. and because they put that out, so many times, when people search for baghdad on twitter, that image will come up. >> with an app the group created, it seemed as though i.s.i.l. mast ared a strategy that corporate brands and campaigns employ. >> let's talk about the app,

called dawn. tell me what it does? >> it causes your account to tweet out content that i.s.i. s wants to distribute. when they press a button, it leads to hundreds or thousands of accounts tweeting out thousands of information. staggered out a little bit. it doesn't like like - this twitter app is something that is new in the world of extremism. >> google shut down the app today, taking away one tool of many that the group uses online. for example, the english magazines launched online weeks ago. the recent issue taps the takeover of mosul. others that trade is flourishing and crime has gone down under the group's rule. with the magazines they are focussing on legitimacy. and they are coming out in english and translated into

german and french and other language for additional distribution. >> it means reaching a global audience. >> fighters in syria will talk to people following them on twitter, living in the west, and encourage them to come and join the fight. and times people will go and travel to turkey, and get on twitter. they ask for someone to pick them up. >> some do not need to take a plag. they seek lone wolves, encouraging them to carry out attacks in their own countries. >> we see activity suggesting they are getting attraction. there was a shooting at the brussels museum. involving the suspects believed to have been involved in i.s.i. s. with its eye on bag dad, and other key cities.

i.s.i.l. has ambitions to establish a governing militia and body, and with minimal costs online, the cyber operations show no sign of shopping. when we return - a cry for help and a painful reply. >> she would repeatedly say if i had ever experienced pleasure at any point while doing this to me. that was something i needed to repent of. >> victims of sexual assault turn to leaders of a community for support, but are blamed for their sins. >> the teachings follows literal translation of the bible. sara hoy at the bob jones university. and from a hawaii island paradise, he's a boxer turned fighter for justice. we look at his effort to keep conflicts out of prison and out

of trouble. for good? >> he had a tough upbringing but he still had to have known right from wrong. r

now a snapshot of stories making headlines on "america tonight". a key suspect in the 2012 attack on the u.s. conschool ute in benghazi libya is in custody, as forces working with the fbi captured the leader ahmed abu chattalah on sunday. he will be tried in the u.s. u.s. ambassador christopher stevens and three other americans were killed in the attack. >> picking up the pieces after twin tornados struck in nebraska. they spun within a mile of each other. two died, one a five-year-old girl. a dozen were injured. 75% of a farming community has

been wiped away. after 10 months in an egyptian prison al jazeera journalist abdullah al-shami has been freed. the 26-year-old correspondent had been on a hunger strike for five months. he was never charged with a crime. three other al jazeera journalist are still held by egypt. it's been called the fortress of faith - bob joins university a fundamentalist christian college in south carolina, one of the most closed off. a watchdog group is investigating how they handle or mishandle dispute assault allegations. an investigation in our coverage of how american colleges and administrations deal with sexual assault. sara hoy speaks to to former bob jones university students in their first television interview. >> it wasn't my fault. i think they should have not

heaped more shame on me. i was filled to the brim with shame. katy is putting the pieces of her life back together it's been a decade since leaving the bob jones university, a flagship of christian fundamentalist education, and, she says, a case that fails rape victims like herself. >> i loved my teachers. i love the school. not sorry i went there. what i am sorry about, is that they seem - they seem so unwilling to guage what they had done wrong. >> reporter: here is the so-called fortress of faith. bob jones university in greenfield carolina. 4,000 students go to this private college. the teachings follow a literal translation. bible and the rules on campus are

superstrict - no tv, no hand holding, no popular music. even a little violation could get you kicked out. interracial dating was banned until 2000. most of the students come from feeder schools, and closely associated churches. but there has been growing outrage among bob jones students, including landry, for the handling of sexual abuse reports. landry's assault did not take place on campus. she was 19. working for an ambulance company in colombus ohio, when she says her supervisor raped her. one evening while counting supplies in the back of the ambulance, she felt the prick of a needle. >> i couldn't feel anything. he took my clothes off. i could speak. i said "no."

he raped me and my eyes filled with tears, but i couldn't brush them away. >> reporter: scared to tell anyone, she returned to work. >> i had three more shifts, he raped me again. two weeks later i left for my freshman year at bob jones university. >> reporter: she kept her rapist secret until her junior year at bob jones, when she sought help. >> i didn't understand why he had picked me. i thought there must be something about me - was it something that he saw, that said it was okay to do this for her. was there something inside of me. then i thought if he could see it, can others see it as well? >> and i just - i needed help. i needed help really bad. >> she was referred to jim berg for counselling.

the dane of students at the time. she says he blamed her. >> he asked if i had been smoking pot. and i really - i started to get an almost dizzy feeling. she asked if i had been impure with this man, if i had relations with this man. i kept saying no to all the questions. he either didn't believe me, hadn't heard or wasn't going to help me and said we have to find the incident in your life that caused your rape. i just ran. aran up the steps -- i ran up the steps of the administration building and he confirmed my worst nightmare. it was something i had done. there was something about me. >> reporter: now 31, landry wanted to come forward when she learnt others at bob jones shared her experience. in 2011 a bob jones trustee

resigned when reports surfaced that he had covered up the rape of a 15-year-old boy, forcing her to confess her sin in front of her fundamentalist search. in the aftermath of the scandal, grace was fired - godly response to abuse in the christian environment - to conduct an investigation into the school's handling of sexual abuse. grace, a nonprofit founded by billy graham's grandson is dedicated to investigating sexual abuse at christian organizations. >> our pews and churches are filled with precious abuse survivors. my concern is we are not talking about it. >> reporter: the university says: more than 100 came forward.

>> some assaults took place on camp u some goodnight. there's a culture of victim blaming by cult yours and administrators. >> i would say the impact of two years of counselling that i had is that i felt i had been raped again. >> this former student asked that we fill her identity. a family member raped her, growing up. >> i grew up in a conservative christian home, and one of the things that we were taught was to obey, and i didn't understand what this was. i didn't know what sex was at that point. didn't know any anatomical terms, nothing. all i knew was that it hurt, and that i did not like it. when she started at bob jones in the late 2,000s, she

thought she'd get ken. >> i had nightmares, flashing backs. i was terrified of men. i didn't want to live this way. >> reporter: she was preferred to the wife of jim burn, the former dean of students and she was told the raped rapes were her own fault. >> she talked about my sin regarding it. and one example would be she would repeatedly say if i had experienced pleasure at any point while he was doing this to me, it was sin i needed to repent on. i remember her looking at me saying, "you know the nightmares are your own fault, because you choose to replay pornographic naught in your mind. ". >> reporter: she showed us

emails telling her to call her rapist. you had been advised: . >> i had to ask him to forgive me. >> but forgive you for what? >> because i had failed. obviously years before to not forgive him. >> pressured by professor burke. she agreed to call her rapist. it was hard. picking up the spoken, calling him was one of the most gut wrenchingly hard things that i ever had to do. it didn't bring me healing, it didn't bring me closure. instead it was like sticking a knife in and twisting harder. >> reporter: jim and pat are known for counselling ests on and off campus. >> this is why we say you do what you do, because you are

what you are. to change what you do, you must cooperate with god to change what you are. >> pastor paige brooks of the canal street church in new orleans says for members of caist yn fundamentalist sex, it's common to believe that rape for sexual result is a result of unresolved sin or lack of faith. >> they come at it in a sense of - that if you are sin in your life and if something happens to you, most like lick you are to -- likely you are to blame for the tin. >> past your bruce counselled many victims, it reinforces a culture of victim blaming. >> i think because of that culture of silence that it keeps

the culture prop kated and never addressing the truth. >> reporter: brook says the grace report will have an impact behind the gates of grace jones. >> it will help us recognise that there's more out there about sexual crimes and victims than we wanted to admit in the past and now the church wants to be involved and covered up things. >> administrators at bob jones declined to go on camera for an interview. the university will not respond to any allegations until the investigation is complete and the results released. we reached out directly to jim berg, former dean of students and a counsellor to a woman in this report. we have yet to hear back from him. however, we did receive a pops to pat berg, through a joufrty representative saying:

the reason that it continued to go is because i was still to desperate for some ray of lyiig, something to make this better. if this is what my life is going to be like. i don't want to live any more. >> after graduating she took matters into her own hands and report her rapist to the police. she was convicted of sexual battery, a child of 12 years of age. >> if you had told me when i walked out of this office with no hope, that one day my rapist would be convicted and sentences to prison, that i would live a stable successful life. and that i would be healing from my abuse, i would never have been able to believe you. others who have taken the hard

step to come forward are waiting with hope and a prayer that change will come. >> some day i would like to see a world where universities, churches, schools, families, friends, stand alongside the victim. and not cover up the abuse. after the break - from hawaii, a new preach to crime and punishment that mirrors an old adage - spare the rod, spoil the child. >> this is parenting 101. you do something wrong, your parents give you a consequence immediately. that's what we are doing. >> an island paradise and a no-nonsense judge. how his methods may be a model for mainland justice. >> and on the run from a country that measures its worth in grosses national happiness.

what is behind an exodus of refugees from buton, why anyone would want to leave a country built on happiness for life as a refugee here. that is thursday on "america tonight".

it's been known to call it the revolving door. our criminal justice system struggles with repeat offenders clogging courtrooms and crowding

gaols. hawaii, of all place, offers a surprising solution, a unique and tough probation programme. on "crime and punish the in america", here is adam may on project hope. growing up in hawaii, steven earned the badge of tough guy in a hard way. >> i boxed in a local gym, i was one of two white guys. i don't think there was a lot of seriousness. after the first fight a long-term trainer said "you should you have heart" and everyone accepted me. >> reporter: years of boxing scored him a role on the original "hawaii 5-0", and the tough guy reputation he maintains today as a judge. >> i had the respect of the law enforcement community, the toughest sentencer in the courthouse. >> reporter: he served for honolulu and hawaii before becoming a judge.

he knew hawaii and the justice system. he knew it needed a change, particularly probation. >> sentencing i can send them to prin or the beach -- prison pore the beach. it's not a knock, but a reflection that probation is usual, but doesn't work well. >> reporter: hawaii may seem like paradise. away from the beaches and resorts an evil tide swept across the island. methamphetamine. drug abusers arrested, clogging the criminal justice system. judge olm created hope - hawaii's opportunity probation with enforcement. >> it is a new way to do probation, a more effective way. >> reporter: traditional probation is an alternative for hard time for a misdemeanour or a felony.

judge olm calls hope probation on steroids. >> they are given a number of conditions. see your po, get drug tested, pay restitution. the conditions on probation is usual, they would not do them and for a year or more there would be no consequence. the usual consequence is nothing. >> often after the second, third and fourth violation, still nothing. >> the difference is in hope if there's a violation, they go to gaol. depending how you handle it. it could be a short time or a long time. this is parenting 101. you do something wrong, your parents give you a consequence immediately. that's what we are doing. >> if you keep violating, you are sentenced to more time. "america tonight" sat in court watching hope in action. >> today will be your first day in the programme. the ideal thing is you follow all the rules and i won't see you again. i recognise we are all human

being, we can make bad choices and mistakes and run into our friends who say "let's get high", if it happens, come in, admit it to your po. if it happens, you get a few days in gaol. if you test mfiand de -- positive and deny it and the lab confirms if, that's 15. don't show up, 30 days behind bars, not in the future, right away. if it happens repeatedly, it's the open term. it's like a pier amid. some don't violate. a smaller group once, a smaller group twice, a smaller group three times, a small tail. that's where we should spend the resources. you'll be on the drug test hot line. um be given a colour. >> reporter: if your colour is called, your drug test is that day. there's meetings with the

probation officer, restitution and rehab. success means freedom. >> we have not seen you since july. >> miss a drug test and you end up in front of judge olm. >> if you don't show up for a drug test or probation, what will we assume? >> you're dirty. you have been on hope long enough to know how this works. you'll go into custody. i'll give you five weekends. >> reporter: starting immediately. >> on regular probation you can fool the system, fake it, do what you need to do and get by and get an early release. >> reporter: michelle has seven felony convictions. hope accepts every case they are given, including a quarter of state felon cases. >> i was the biggest drug dealer. i had guys in prison that were my right hand man. if they owed me, i would steal

from them. >> reporter: fernandez was using, serving a year, and burglary got her another year. >> i did my year. they saw me at the federal prison and said we'll pu you on hope. >> reporter: she had her po and her freedom. >> i ended back in for 15 days, five weekends, for taking a pill. >> reporter: there was another dirty test, this time cocaine. another five weekend in gaol. >> i said, "i'm down." i'm almost 50, i can't do this. i've had enough. >> reporter: now michelle fernandez is where she was, in the same apartment building. but she has a new lease on life. she started to go to church and manages the building. you might say she's resurrecting

a community. that like her life was almost lost. >> i wiped out the trees that made it dark. i have new renovated rooms, versus beat up ugly rooms. people used to hide in the dark. >> reporter: fernandes is in project hope and is called in for urine analysis and is one dirty test away from another weekend in gaol. she also has a reason to stay out. >> i have a life. you know, i have a home, i with a beautiful home. i would rather be in my ac with my remote control than sitting in a cell with oun other knirl, crazy -- with one other girl, crazy out of control. >> reporter: this reminder keeps her on track. hope probationers are less likely to be arrested for a new crime, 72% less likely to use

drugs. 61% less likely to skip appointments with a supervisory officer. the hope project has been so successful washington, texas and massachusetts instituted versions of it. and representatives from governments are interested, from places like japan or sweden. >> credit for time served. >> hope takes more work for everyone. >> but the short answer is this is what we get paid to do. these are our jobs. i have more hearings. i'm busier. prosecutors, public defenders have more hearings. they are busier. police sheriffs, marshals are busy serve warrants. we have research showing people in hope are getting arrested for new crimes half as often as people on probation as unusual. >> in january judge olm received this letter announcing 4 million

in funds. it will be spent to support the expansion of hope because of success. it's the news that judge olm was hoping for. >> it would reduce the size of prison system. now a lot of probationers are failing. many fail and end up in prison. many people do a prison sentence, get out on parole. fail and go into prison. >> you have been doing well. >> even tough guys like judge olm say some of them deserve the chance. >> since you have been doing so well as of today i'm going to grand the motion so your court supervision is over. best of luck. >> reporter: a chance to prove they can be free. do parole poords have too much pour and oversight. probation reform is the focus of "the system" with gentlemen berlinger wednesday at 9:30.

ahead in the final thoughts - a top show. how the big island is making room for an oyster's fight against too much co 2 and a changing environment.

finally from u you may never see the area, but the president is acting to make a stretch of the pacific ocean the world's largest sanctuary making it off limits for fishing and oil exploration. one of the creatures of sea to benefit are the oysters of the pacific north-west. rising acid itty caused numbers to dwindle. as reported, help may be on the way from hawaii as well. >> reporter: there is no debate among climate change among the oyster farmers of america. for a decade oysters in the pacific north west coast have been unable to form shells the ocean is too acidic, eating at

attempts to mould calcium carbonate to their bodies, a result of the surge in carbon dioxide levels. >> this is a hatchery building. >> reporter: mainland oyster farmers feel they have found a fix. a big hot tub. these tanks on hawaii contain millions of baby oysters, here they'll form shells before being exported to the north-west, armoured and growing into adults. >> these are six days owl. . >> reporter: some hawaii entrepreneurs are buying baby oysters in the hope of developing an industry here. >> this is the most isolated land mass in the world. we are a long ways from everything out here. so you are safe from acidification. >> i don't know, i can't say that. >> reporter: there is reason for caution. marine biologists are seeing the impact of elevated co2 levels in

hawaii as well. here it's not causing ocean acidification, but a rise in water temperature. >> nowhere is immune from the effects of climate change. just as in the north-west oysters have difficulty forming shells, in hawaii, corals have dity forming reefs. coral is sensitive to acidity and temperature. both coral and oysters need to absorb calcium carionate to create the shells. >> it's liking the elevation in temperature will put them above the temperature threshold so they don't function. it's unclear which of the two eve ills will get there first, it's clear we will get there. >> these are getting bigger. >> the oyster hatcheries of hawaii are an attempt to adapt to climate change.

these may be obsolete. >> one more week, and that will be sellable. over the past two centuries the ocean's acidity rose by 30%. that's if for us here on "america tonight". don't forget that thursday on the programme, who would flee a country coining the term cross national happiness. that's what many are doing, coming from the south asian country. "america tonight"'s michael oku sits with a fast growing refugee group coming up thursday on "america tonight". goodnight. we have more of "america tonight". hope to see you again.