HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1636

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to offenses against VULNERABLE persons.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  Section 706-620, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§706-620  Authority to withhold sentence of imprisonment.  A defendant who has been convicted of a crime may be sentenced to a term of probation unless:

     (1)  The crime is first or second degree murder or attempted first or second degree murder;

     (2)  The crime is a class A felony, except class A felonies defined in chapter 712, part IV, and by section 707‑702;

     (3)  The defendant is a repeat offender under section 706‑606.5;

     (4)  The defendant is a felony firearm offender as defined in section 706-660.1(2);

     (5)  The crime involved the death of or the infliction of serious or substantial bodily injury upon a child, an elder person, a pregnant woman, or a handicapped person under section 706-660.2; or

     (6)  The crime is cruelty to animals where ten or more pet animals were involved under section 711-1108.5 or 711‑1109."

     SECTION 2.  Section 706-660.2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending its title and subsection (1) to read as follows:

     "§706-660.2  Sentence of imprisonment for offenses against children, elder persons, pregnant women, or handicapped persons.  (1)  Notwithstanding section 706-669, if not subjected to an extended term of imprisonment pursuant to section 706-662, a person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment without possibility of parole as provided in subsection (2) if:

     (a)  The person, in the course of committing or attempting to commit a felony, causes the death of, or inflicts serious or substantial bodily injury upon another person who is:

          (i)  Sixty years of age or older;

         (ii)  Blind, a paraplegic, or a quadriplegic; [or]

        (iii)  Eight years of age or younger; [and] or

         (iv)  Pregnant; provided that this section shall not apply to legal abortions performed by healthcare workers and abortions performed by pregnant women on themselves; and

     (b)  Such [disability] status is known or reasonably should be known to the defendant."

     SECTION 3.  Section 706-662, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§706-662  Criteria for extended terms of imprisonment.  A defendant who has been convicted of a felony may be subject to an extended term of imprisonment under section 706-661 if it is proven beyond a reasonable doubt that an extended term of imprisonment is necessary for the protection of the public and that the convicted defendant satisfies one or more of the following criteria:

     (1)  The defendant is a persistent offender in that the defendant has previously been convicted of two or more felonies committed at different times when the defendant was eighteen years of age or older;

     (2)  The defendant is a professional criminal in that:

          (a)  The circumstances of the crime show that the defendant has knowingly engaged in criminal activity as a major source of livelihood; or

          (b)  The defendant has substantial income or resources not explained to be derived from a source other than criminal activity;

     (3)  The defendant is a dangerous person in that the defendant has been subjected to a psychiatric or psychological evaluation that documents a significant history of dangerousness to others resulting in criminally violent conduct, and this history makes the defendant a serious danger to others.  Nothing in this section precludes the introduction of victim-related data to establish dangerousness in accord with the Hawaii rules of evidence;

     (4)  The defendant is a multiple offender in that:

          (a)  The defendant is being sentenced for two or more felonies or is already under sentence of imprisonment for any felony; or

          (b)  The maximum terms of imprisonment authorized for each of the defendant's crimes, if made to run consecutively, would equal or exceed in length the maximum of the extended term imposed or would equal or exceed forty years if the extended term imposed is for a class A felony;

     (5)  The defendant is an offender against [the] an elderly[,] or handicapped[,] person, a pregnant woman, or a minor eight years of age or younger in that:

          (a)  The defendant attempts or commits any of the following crimes:  murder, manslaughter, a sexual offense that constitutes a felony under chapter 707, robbery, felonious assault, burglary, or kidnapping; and

          (b)  The defendant, in the course of committing or attempting to commit the crime, causes the death of, or inflicts serious or substantial bodily injury upon, a person who has the status of being:

              (i)  Sixty years of age or older;

             (ii)  Blind, a paraplegic, or a quadriplegic; [or]

            (iii)  Pregnant; provided that this section shall not apply to legal abortions performed by healthcare workers and abortions performed by pregnant women on themselves; or

          [(iii)] (iv)   Eight years of age or younger; and

              the person's status is known or reasonably should be known to the defendant;

     (6)  The defendant is a hate crime offender in that:

          (a)  The defendant [is] has been convicted of a crime under chapter 707, 708, or 711; and

          (b)  The defendant intentionally selected a victim or, in the case of a property crime, the property that was the object of a crime, because of hostility toward the actual or perceived race, religion, disability, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation of any person.  For purposes of this subsection, "gender identity or expression" includes a person's actual or perceived gender, as well as a person's gender identity, gender-related self-image, gender-related appearance, or gender-related expression, regardless of whether that gender identity, gender-related self-image, gender-related appearance, or gender-related expression is different from that traditionally associated with the person's sex at birth; or

     (7)  The defendant is convicted under section 707-702.5 and the defendant did not remain at the scene of the crime and render reasonable assistance to an injured person, including acts and omissions in violation of section 291C-12."

     SECTION 4.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

 


 


 

Report Title:

Sentences for Injuries to Pregnant Women; Extended and Mandatory Minimum Terms of Imprisonment

 

Description:

Adds the acts of killing or inflicting serious or substantial bodily injury upon a pregnant woman in the course of committing or attempting to commit a felony, to the offenses for which a person is subject to an extended or mandatory minimum term of imprisonment.

 

 

 

 

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