Lawmaker The death penalty in Hawaii should be reinstated for the murder of a minor, says state Sen. Willie Espero, who cites last month's beating death of 11-year-old Kahealani Indreginal as an example of a crime worthy of capital punishment.
calls for isle
death penalty
2 proposals, which would
punish crimes against children,
are greeted with concernBy Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.com
Espero planned to announce today that he will introduce two bills this legislative session to restore capital punishment, which was repealed by the territorial Legislature in 1957.
"Our children are our most vulnerable citizens," said Espero (D, Ewa Beach). "Criminal harm against our children cannot be tolerated. In the murder of a minor, the penalty should be death."
One measure would set up the death penalty for the rape or sexual assault and death of a minor. The other measure, a direct response to Indreginal's murder, would impose the death penalty for the murder of a minor regardless of whether a sexual assault also occurred, Espero said.
Civil libertarians vowed to oppose his proposal, and city Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said he would not support it.
"The death penalty is an easy response to a horrible crime, but it does nothing to prevent crime and it is no better at keeping society safer than life imprisonment without the possibility of parole," said Abraham Bonowitz, director of Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, a national nonprofit group that seeks to end capital punishment.
"And if Hawaii is in a fiscal crunch like almost every other state, the last thing you want to do is bring in a new government program that will cost taxpayers millions and yield no benefit," Bonowitz said yesterday.
The measures, if approved, would be effective July 1 and would not apply to minors who commit murder or to certain individuals who may not understand the extent of the proceedings against them, Espero said. A recommendation of death would require the unanimous vote of the jury and automatically trigger a review by the Hawaii Supreme Court, under his proposals.
Death would be administered by lethal injection, he said.
"The ACLU is, of course, opposed to capital punishment for a number of reasons," said Vanessa Chong, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii.
"And such a move to pass for the legalization again of capital punishment would be a major step backwards for Hawaii," said Chong, who warned the agency would fight the measures every step of the way.
Nationally, 38 states have capital punishment laws. Fifteen of those states and the federal government executed 66 prisoners -- 63 men and three women -- in 2001, 19 fewer than in 2000, according to the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Preliminary data for 2002 show states executed 68 prisoners from Jan. 1 to Dec. 11; 67 were given lethal injections and one inmate was electrocuted. Of that total, Texas executed 33 inmates, followed by Missouri with six and Oklahoma with five.
Hawaii, Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia do not allow the death penalty.
Chong said Hawaii's experience with capital punishment has been poor and ultimately led to its repeal. Most of the people subjected here to the death penalty were minorities, such as Hawaiians and Filipinos, she noted.
Chong said there have been at least 100 people nationwide who have been released from death row with proof of innocence. Those releases were due to problems with false or mistaken testimony, misconduct by police or prosecutors, or ineffective and incompetent attorneys who have jeopardized clients' chance at a fair trial, she said.
"And whether or not you support or oppose capital punishment, this is unacceptable," Chong said.
Carlisle said he feels there are other ways to address cruel and heinous crimes against minors. A better alternative, he said, would be to expand existing laws dealing with the murder of a minor so it results in a life sentence without parole.
Also, lawmakers should focus on the state's high property crime rate since it already has one of the lowest murder rates in the country. If property crime rates are lowered, Carlisle said he believes the homicide rate would drop even further, and there would not be much need for the death penalty.
Espero said surveys of Hawaii residents show him that a strong majority support capital punishment for the murder of a minor. He added there are checks and balances to minimize abuse and eliminate mistakes when considering an individual for a capital crime.
Already, Indreginal's killing has prompted some discussion of the death penalty in letters to the editors to the Star-Bulletin, as well as on local Internet discussion boards such as at HawaiiStories.com, which lists the topic under "Justice for Kahealani."
Christopher Clayburn Aki, 20, the boyfriend of Indreginal's half sister, pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge in connection with Kahealani's death.
Espero is vice chairman of the Senate Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations Committee, which could hold a hearing on the bills after the session opens Jan. 15.