|
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2346 |
|
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
|
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO MANSLAUGHTER.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Section 707-702, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§707-702 Manslaughter (1) A
person commits the offense of manslaughter if:
(a) The
person recklessly causes the death of another person; [or]
(b) The person intentionally causes another person to commit suicide; or
(c) The
person knowingly and unlawfully distributes a dangerous drug in any amount and
thereby recklessly causes the death of another person as a result of that
person's ingesting that drug,
provided that this section shall not apply to actions taken under chapter 327L.
(2) It shall not be a defense to prosecution under subsection (1)(c) that the decedent contributed to the decedent's own death by voluntarily ingesting the dangerous drug.
(3)
For purposes of this section:
"Dangerous drug" has the same
meaning as "dangerous drugs" as defined by section 712-1240; and
"Distributes" has the same
meaning as "to distribute" as defined by section 712-1240.
[(2)] (4) In a prosecution for murder or attempted
murder in the first and second degrees it is an affirmative defense, which
reduces the offense to manslaughter or attempted manslaughter, that the
defendant was, at the time the defendant caused the death of the other person,
under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance for which there
is a reasonable explanation. The
reasonableness of the explanation shall be determined from the viewpoint of a
reasonable person in the circumstances as the defendant believed them to be;
provided that an explanation that is not otherwise reasonable shall not be
determined to be reasonable because of the defendant's discovery, defendant's
knowledge, or the disclosure of the other person's actual or perceived gender,
gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, including under
circumstances in which the other person made an unwanted nonforcible romantic
or sexual advance toward the defendant, or in which the defendant and the other
person dated or had a romantic relationship. If the defendant's explanation includes the
discovery, knowledge, or disclosure of the other person's actual or perceived
gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, the court
shall instruct the jury to disregard biases or prejudices regarding the other
person's actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or
sexual orientation in reaching a verdict.
[(3)]
(5) Manslaughter is a class A
felony."
SECTION 2. This Act does not
affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and
proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION
3. Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken. New statutory
material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
|
INTRODUCED BY: |
_____________________________ |
|
|
BY REQUEST |
Report Title:
Manslaughter; Dangerous Drug; Distribution
Description:
Amends the offense of manslaughter to include cases where a person knowingly and unlawfully distributes a dangerous drug in any amount and thereby recklessly causes the death of another person who ingested that drug.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.