Lawmakers have advanced a three-strikes criminal penalty measure.
It would elevate the penalty to a Class C felony for people convicted of three offenses for certain misdemeanors within five years.
The misdemeanors that would count toward the three-strikes rule include assault against a law enforcement officer in the second degree, sexual assault in the fourth degree and assault in the third degree.
Those who support the measure say that the increased penalty will help deter violent crime and target those who continue to break the law.
Rep. Gene Ward urged members to vote for the measure.
“If these guys have been 15 or 20 times offending, you’ve got to use common sense and say, 'Hey, the probability is in the 90%, they're going to do it again,'” he said. “This is common sense. Let's stick with it.”
However, several members opposed the measure. Rep. Sonny Ganaden explained that the state’s approach to crime needs to be more focused on rehabilitation instead of punishment.
“This seems to be coming from an effort from individuals from Waikīkī that want to expand upon criminal sentencing in a similar way that this state in many other states did throughout the 1990s,” Ganaden said.
“It didn't work then, and it won't work now to make us any safer. It will make certain offenses that are currently misdemeanors — if you get three of them, like a three strikes law — turn into a felony. That's a pretty significant difference.”
Hawaiʻi had a similar law on the books that allowed prosecutors to seek a 30-year to life prison sentence for those convicted of a third violent felony. That law expired in 2011 after being only used once.
This measure has an expiration date in 2026, but would also require prosecutors to seek the higher sentence.
It was passed on second reading by the House with seven members voting no. It will next be heard on a third reading.
