Bill Text: HI HB1785 | 2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Young Adult Defendants; Department of Public Safety; Life Sentences without Parole; Appropriation ($)
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-31 - Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JUD with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Say excused (1). [HB1785 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2014-HB1785-Amended.html
|
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
1785 |
|
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014 |
H.D. 1 |
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO YOUNG ADULT OFFENDERS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii is one of a diminishing number of states that allows juveniles to be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The United States is the only nation in the world that still imposes life imprisonment without the possibility of parole on juveniles, according to an article in the Huffington Post, dated September 20, 2013.
The legislature also finds that recent decisions by the United States Supreme Court have cast doubt upon the practice of sentencing juveniles to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In 2010, the United States Supreme Court held in Graham v. Florida, 130 S. Ct. 2011 (2010), that sentencing juveniles to life without parole for crimes not involving murder violated the United States Constitution. In 2012, the United States Supreme Court held in Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012), that sentencing juveniles to mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for any offenses violated the United States Constitution.
The legislature also finds that sentencing juveniles to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is inconsistent with Hawaii's values. In 2007, the legislature adopted H.C.R. 69, H.D. 2, "Urging the Adoption of the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child." Permanently condemning one of Hawaii's citizens for a crime committed as a juvenile does not reflect Hawaii's values as a state and does not comport with Hawaii's expressed commitment to children's rights.
The legislature further finds that many psychological studies have shown that juveniles lack the neurological development to appreciate the gravity and consequences of their actions sufficiently to justify permanently condemning them to imprisonment. Condemnation without subsequent review for rehabilitation is an irrational and cruel punishment unsupported by science and unjustified by morality.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to remove any possibility that an individual convicted of a crime committed when the individual was a youth will result in the individual being sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and to provide expanded opportunities and resources for young adult rehabilitation.
SECTION 2. Chapter 353C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§353C- Young adult rehabilitation special fund. (a) There is established the young adult rehabilitation special fund to be administered by the department. The fund shall consist of:
(1) Funds appropriated by the legislature; and
(2) Federal funds received by the State or through executive order of the President of the United States for the purpose of public safety or corrections; provided that the acceptance and use of federal funds shall not commit state funds for services and shall not place an obligation upon the legislature to continue the purpose for which the federal funds are made available.
(b) The fund shall be used to provide the following support services for rehabilitation of young adult defendants:
(1) Providing regular and consistent sessions with a certified therapist for the young adult defendant, until the young adult defendant reaches the first parole hearing date;
(2) Providing appropriate services that address drug and alcohol addiction; and
(3) Any other services deemed necessary and appropriate for the purpose of young adult rehabilitation."
SECTION 3. Section 353-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§353-16 Transfer of committed felon
to federal institution. The director may effect the transfer of a
committed felon to any federal correctional institution for imprisonment,
subsistence, care, and proper employment of such a felon[.]; provided
that no young adult defendant as defined under section 706-667 shall be
transported out of state to serve any portion of the defendant's imprisonment
for an offense committed and adjudicated in the State."
SECTION 4. Section 353-16.2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) The director may effect the transfer of a committed felon to any correctional institution located in another state regardless of whether the state is a member of the Western Interstate Corrections Compact; provided that the institution is in compliance with appropriate health, safety, and sanitation codes of the state, provides a level of program activity for the inmate that is suitable, and is operated by that state, by any of its political subdivisions, or by a private institution; provided further that no young adult defendant as defined under section 706-667 shall be transported out of state to serve any portion of the defendant's imprisonment for an offense committed and adjudicated in the State; and provided further that the transfer is either:
(1) In the interest of the security, management of the correctional institution where the inmate is presently placed, or the reduction of prison overcrowding; or
(2) In the interest of the inmate."
SECTION 5. Section 706-656, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:
"(1) [Persons] Except as
provided in section 706-667, pertaining to young adult defendants, persons
convicted of first degree murder or first degree attempted murder shall be
sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole.
As part of [such] the sentence
the court shall order the director of public safety and the Hawaii paroling
authority to prepare an application for the governor to commute the sentence to
life imprisonment with parole at the end of twenty years of imprisonment;
provided that persons who are repeat offenders under section 706-606.5 shall
serve at least the applicable mandatory minimum term of imprisonment."
SECTION 6. Section 706-657, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§706-657 Enhanced sentence for second degree murder. The court may sentence a person who has been convicted of murder in the second degree to life imprisonment without possibility of parole under section 706-656 if the court finds that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity or that the person was previously convicted of the offense of murder in the first degree or murder in the second degree in this State or was previously convicted in another jurisdiction of an offense that would constitute murder in the first degree or murder in the second degree in this State.
As used in this section, the phrase "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity" means a conscienceless or pitiless crime which is unnecessarily torturous to a victim and "previously convicted" means a sentence imposed at the same time or a sentence previously imposed which has not been set aside, reversed, or vacated.
Hearings to determine the grounds for imposing an enhanced sentence for second degree murder may be initiated by the prosecutor or by the court on its own motion. The court shall not impose an enhanced term unless the ground therefor has been established at a hearing after the conviction of the defendant and on written notice to the defendant of the ground proposed. Subject to the provision of section 706-604, the defendant shall have the right to hear and controvert the evidence against the defendant and to offer evidence upon the issue.
The provisions pertaining to commutation in section 706-656(2), shall apply to persons sentenced pursuant to this section.
Enhanced sentences for second degree murder shall not apply to a young adult defendant, as defined in section 706-667."
SECTION 7. Section 706-667, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§706-667 Young adult defendants.
(1) Defined. A young adult defendant is a person convicted of a crime who, at
the time of the offense, is less than twenty-two years of age and who has not
been previously convicted of a felony as an adult [or adjudicated as a
juvenile for an offense that would have constituted a felony had the young
adult defendant been an adult].
(2) Specialized correctional treatment. A young adult defendant who is sentenced to a term of imprisonment exceeding thirty days may be committed by the court to the custody of the department of public safety and shall receive, as far as practicable, such special and individualized correctional and rehabilitative treatment as may be appropriate to the young adult defendant's needs.
(3) Special term. A young adult defendant convicted of a felony, in lieu of any other sentence of imprisonment authorized by this chapter, may be sentenced to a special indeterminate term of imprisonment if the court is of the opinion that such special term is adequate for the young adult defendant's correction and rehabilitation and will not jeopardize the protection of the public. When ordering a special indeterminate term of imprisonment, the court shall impose the maximum length of imprisonment, which shall be eight years for a class A felony, five years for a class B felony, and four years for a class C felony. The minimum length of imprisonment shall be set by the Hawaii paroling authority in accordance with section 706-669. During this special indeterminate term, the young adult shall be incarcerated separately from career criminals, when practicable.
(4) Murder or attempted murder. A young adult defendant convicted of first degree murder or first degree attempted murder shall be sentenced to life imprisonment with possibility of parole. The minimum length of imprisonment shall be determined by the Hawaii paroling authority in accordance with section 706-669; provided that a young adult defendant who is a repeat offender under section 706-606.5 shall serve at least the applicable mandatory minimum term of imprisonment, which shall not exceed twenty-five years. During the minimum imprisonment term, the young adult defendant shall be incarcerated separately from career criminals, when practicable."
SECTION 8. Section 706-672, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§706-672 Place of imprisonment.
When a person is sentenced to imprisonment, the court shall commit the person
to the custody of the department of public safety for the term of the person's
sentence and until released in accordance with law. The director of public
safety shall determine the proper program of redirection and any place of
confinement of the committed person[.]; provided that no young adult
defendant as defined under section 706-667 shall be transported out of
state to serve any portion of the defendant's imprisonment for an offense committed
and adjudicated in the State."
SECTION 9. (a) There is established within the department of public safety for administrative purposes the temporary young adult rehabilitation advisory group. The advisory group shall advise the department of public safety on the implementation of the programs created through the young adult rehabilitation special fund.
(b) The following or their designated representatives shall be members of the advisory group:
(1) The director of public safety;
(2) The chief justice of the supreme court;
(3) The director of the office of youth services;
(4) The director of health;
(5) The president of the University of Hawaii system;
(6) The superintendent of education;
(7) The senior family court judge; and
(8) At least two community representatives to be selected by the governor.
The young adult rehabilitation advisory group shall select a chair from among its members.
(c) Members of the young adult rehabilitation advisory group shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to reimbursement for necessary expenses while attending meetings and while in discharge of their duties.
(d) The advisory group shall submit to the legislature a report of its findings, descriptions of the programs and initiatives implemented through the young adult rehabilitation special fund, the effectiveness of those programs and initiatives, and any other matters relating to rehabilitation as determined by the director of public safety, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular sessions of 2015 to 2017.
(e) The advisory group shall cease to exist on June 30, 2017.
SECTION 10. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2014-2015 for the implementation of this Act.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of public safety for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 11. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 12. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.
SECTION 13. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 14. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.
Report Title:
Young Adult Defendants; Department of Public Safety; Life Sentences without Parole; Appropriation
Description:
Establishes the young adult rehabilitation special fund. Exempts young adult defendants from life sentence without parole. Prohibits young adult defendants from being transported out of state. Establishes temporary young adult rehabilitation advisory group. Makes an appropriation. Effective July 1, 2050. (HB1785 HD1)
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
