Well it seemed like a good idea at the time

[Red]

Adonis Oandasan, 35, was committed to the Hawaii State Hospital after being arrested for slashing 40 car tires. Months later he escaped the mental hospital, and worried hospital officials told police he was armed with a machete, was paranoid after being off his medication for two weeks, and was "possibly violent." So where did a patient in a mental hospital with a history of cutting crimes get a machete? The hospital staff gave it to him to help with gardening on the hospital grounds.

And on a related note:

Police in Honolulu, Hawaii, report they have captured Adonis Oandasan, 35, who had escaped from the state mental hospital. He was arrested without incident, officers said. Oandasan was the ninth mental patient to escape from the facility this year. "The hospital currently houses about 170 patients," the newspaper notes, "though the number fluctuates." (Honolulu Advertiser)