HB 1517: Judiciary; DCR; Penal Code; Sentencing; Review; Report

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1517
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO SENTENCING REVIEW.

 

 

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

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that harsh sentencing policies, such as lengthy mandatory minimum sentences, have contributed to an aging prison population in the United States.  Nearly one-third of individuals serving life sentences are fifty-five years or older, amounting to over sixty thousand people.  Research indicates that lengthy sentences do not significantly deter crime and may even increase, rather than reduce, recidivism.  They also divert resources from effective public safety programs.  Most criminal careers last less ten years, and individuals usually desist from crime as they age.  The potential for a later reduction in sentence encourages incarcerated individuals to engage in good behavior and to take advantage of rehabilitative programming.

     The National Institute of Corrections defines older inmates as those fifty years or older, and many correctional institutions estimate that an inmate's physiological age is ten to fifteen years older than their chronological age due to prior lack of medical care, drug use, and the stresses of incarceration.  Concern over an aging and seriously ill prison population has led nearly all states and the federal government to adopt policies providing for the early release of certain older and seriously ill inmates.

     A detailed analysis shows that Hawaii experienced one of the fastest-growing prison populations in the country from 1980 to the late 1990s, with a six hundred sixteen per cent increase since 1978.  Although the prison population began declining in the late 2010s, it remained more than triple its 1980 size as of 2020.  This growth was driven largely by "tough on crime" sentencing laws, particularly for drug offenses.

     As of September 22, 2025, Hawaii has one hundred thirty-five individuals serving life with the possibility of parole and thirty-four individuals serving life without the possibility of parole; one man and one woman serving more than forty-year sentences; seven men and six women serving more than thirty-year sentences; fourteen men and four women serving more than twenty-year sentences; one hundred forty-nine men and one woman serving more than ten-year sentences; and 1,873 men and one hundred ninety-three women serving sentences of less than ten years.

     Excessive sentences have created a "silver tsunami" in Hawaii, where the State has a large aging prison population with multiple medical needs that, in many cases, the State is unable to adequately address.  Between 2015 and 2019, the number of inmates fifty-five and older swelled from thirteen per cent (seven hundred forty-five individuals) to seventeen per cent (eight hundred seventy individuals).  As of mid-August 2025, the department of corrections and rehabilitation housed nine hundred fifty-eight inmates fifty years of age or older, including over one hundred inmates aged seventy or older.

     The legislature further finds that the social, cultural, and economic costs of long-term incarceration are substantial.  In Hawaii, it costs an average of $112,055 annually to incarcerate a single individual.  Long prison sentences disproportionately impact poor communities and communities of color.  The impacts of incarceration extend beyond the individual and are borne in significant measure by their families.  Research indicates that the children of incarcerated parents are six to seven times more likely to experience incarceration themselves, underscoring the intergenerational consequences of current practices.

     As the criminal legal system gains insight into the devastating impact of mass incarceration, states have modified their charging, plea bargaining, and sentencing practices to reflect developments in scientific research on youth brain development, the effects of trauma and abuse, effective treatment for addiction and mental illness, and the penalty necessary to achieve the purposes of sentencing.  Yet the existing parole systems in most states are ineffective at curtailing excessive sentences due to their highly discretionary nature, lack of due process and oversight, and lack of objective consideration standards.

     This combination of lengthy sentences, over-incarceration, and the possibility of a recession causing a budget shortfall highlights the necessity of establishing a mechanism for reviewing excessive sentences.  Consequently, legislators and courts are increasingly turning to judicial review as a more effective means of reconsidering an incarcerated person's sentence and assessing their readiness to reenter society.  Judicial review – sometimes referred to as "second look review" or "sentence review" – allows courts to assess whether sentences imposed decades earlier remain just and proportional under current sentencing policies and contemporary public sentiment.

     Reforms are already underway across the county.  Six states – Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, North Dakota, and Oregon – and the District of Columbia permit courts to reconsider sentences under certain conditions, such as age at the time of the offense or time served.  Four states – California, Colorado, New York, and Oklahoma – allow judicial review for specific populations, such as military veterans, domestic violence survivors, and those sentenced under habitual offender laws.  In the federal system, individuals may seek compassionate release for extraordinary and compelling reasons, while individuals sentenced in the District of Columbia may seek compassionate release based solely on elderly age.

     California has also enacted a recall and resentencing statute permitting its department of corrections or county district attorneys to recommend resentencing for any reason, and as of 2024, authorizing judges to initiate resentencing proceedings when sentencing laws have changed.  In addition, four states – Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington – have enacted prosecutor-initiated resentencing laws that allow prosecutors to request sentence reconsideration.

     The legislature believes that it is time for Hawaii to take a bold step to address the moral and practical consequences of people serving sentences far longer than what would be imposed today, whether because sentencing laws have evolved or because incarcerated individuals have demonstrated significant rehabilitation warranting a second look.

     The purpose of this Act is to establish a procedure for incarcerated individuals who have served at least ten years of their sentence to petition the court for a sentence reduction.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 706, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Part    .  judicial review of sentencing

     §706-A  Judicial review for long-term incarcerated individuals.  (1)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including any applicable mandatory minimum sentence, an incarcerated individual who has served at least ten years of their sentence may petition their sentencing judge for a reduction of their sentence.

     (2)  If a petition for a sentence reduction under this section is denied, the incarcerated individual shall not file a successive petition until at least two years have elapsed from the date of denial; provided that the court may impose a longer waiting period, not to exceed five years from the date of denial.

     (3)  If a petition for a sentence reduction under this section is granted, the incarcerated individual shall not file a petition for a subsequent reduction until at least five years have elapsed from the date the immediately preceding reduction was granted.

     (4)  An incarcerated individual who is otherwise ineligible to petition under this section may file a petition for a sentence reduction with the consent of the prosecuting attorney.

     §706-B  Procedure.  (1)  For any incarcerated individual sentenced to a term of imprisonment exceeding ten years for an offense, the department of corrections and rehabilitation shall, no later than thirty days after the commencement of the individual's tenth year of imprisonment, provide written notice of this part to:

     (a)  The incarcerated individual; and

     (b)  The Hawaii paroling authority, sentencing court, and prosecuting attorney for the judicial district in which the sentence described in this subsection was imposed.

     (2)  For an incarcerated individual sentenced to a term of imprisonment exceeding ten years for an offense, a petition for a sentence reduction under this part may be filed no earlier than six months after the commencement of the individual's tenth year of imprisonment.

     (3)  The petition shall be filed in writing in the judicial district in which the sentence was imposed and may include affidavits, declarations, letters, prison records, or other written or electronic material.

     (4)  Upon the court's receipt of a petition under this section, the court shall promptly notify the appropriate prosecuting attorney and provide the prosecuting attorney with a copy of the petition, including any attached written or electronic material.

     (5)  A petition received under this section shall be referred for determination to the judge who imposed the original sentence.  If the original sentencing judge is unavailable at the time of the petition, the administrative judge of the applicable court shall assign the petition to another judge of the court.

     (6)  Upon the filing of a petition for a sentence reduction under this section, the court may direct the parties to expand the record by submitting additional materials related to the petition.  A petition filed under this section may be amended with leave of court, which shall be granted when justice so requires.

     (7)  No waiver of the right to make a petition for a sentence reduction under this part shall be permitted or honored by the sentencing court.

     §706-C  Hearing.  (1)  The court shall, upon request of the petitioner or the State, conduct a hearing on the petition for a sentence reduction, at which the petitioner and the petitioner's counsel shall have the opportunity to be heard.  The hearing shall be recorded or transcribed.

     (2)  In a hearing under this section, the court may, but is not required to, allow the parties to present any evidence the court deems relevant to the propriety of a sentence reduction.  Evidence may include documents, live testimony, tangible objects, or any other category of evidence or information pertinent to sentencing.  The court shall have exclusive discretion to determine the relevance of any proposed evidence.  At the hearing, the petitioner shall have the right to testify or to remain silent at the petitioner's sole discretion.

     (3)  At a hearing under this section, the petitioner shall be present unless the petitioner waives the right to be present.  The requirement to be present may be satisfied by the petitioner appearing via video teleconference.

     (4)  The court shall set forth, either in open court or in writing, the reasons for granting or denying a petition under this part.

     §706-D  Factors to be considered.  (1)  In exercising its discretion under this part, the sentencing court shall consider the following factors:

     (a)  The age of the petitioner at the time of the offense and relevant research regarding brain development, including youth brain development;

     (b)  The age of the petitioner at the time of filing the petition for sentence reduction and relevant research regarding the decline in criminal behavior as individuals mature;

     (c)  The nature of the offense, including changing societal attitudes regarding the propriety of criminalizing the offense and the appropriate sentence for the offense;

     (d)  The history and characteristics of the petitioner at the time of filing the petition for sentence reduction, including the petitioner's demonstrated rehabilitation, disciplinary record while incarcerated, and efforts to participate in educational, therapeutic, and vocational opportunities while imprisoned;

     (e)  The circumstances of the offense, including the petitioner's role in its commission, whether the petitioner was under the influence of another, or whether the petitioner was the victim of domestic or sexual abuse at the time of the offense and whether the abuse was related to the petitioner's commission of the offense;

     (f)  Any report from a physical, mental, or psychiatric examination of the petitioner conducted by a licensed health care professional;

     (g)  Any statement pursuant to section 706-F(3) by a victim of the offense for which the petitioner is incarcerated, or by a family member of the victim if the victim is deceased;

     (h)  Any evidence concerning whether the petitioner's sentence was enhanced because the petitioner exercised their constitutional right to a trial;

     (i)  Any evidence that the petitioner was denied effective assistance of counsel at any stage in the proceedings leading to the original sentence, including ineffective assistance of counsel at the plea-bargaining stage;

     (j)  Any evidence that the petitioner is innocent of the offense; and

     (k)  Any other information the court deems relevant to its decision.

     (2)  In the case of an incarcerated individual who is fifty years of age or older on the date a petition for sentence reduction is filed, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the petitioner's sentence will be reduced to permit release.

     (3)  In calculating the petitioner's new term, the petitioner shall receive credit for any jail time credited toward the subject conviction, as well as for any period of incarceration credited toward the sentence originally imposed.

     §706-E  Right to counsel.  (1)  A petitioner who is unable to afford counsel shall be entitled to have counsel appointed, at no cost to the petitioner, to represent the petitioner in connection with the petition and proceedings under this part, including any appeal, unless the petitioner expressly waives the right to counsel after being fully advised of this right by the court.

     (2)  A petitioner who files a pro se petition and subsequently retains or is appointed counsel shall be entitled to amend the petition at least once with the assistance of counsel.  Subsequent amendments may be permitted by leave of court, as authorized by section 706-B.

     §706-F  Victim's rights.  (1)  Upon receipt of a petition for sentence reduction, the prosecuting attorney shall provide any notification to the victim otherwise required by law.

     (2)  The prosecuting attorney shall, if practicable, consult with the victim's family in a homicide case before making any filing in relation to a petition under this part or consenting to the petition of an otherwise-ineligible petitioner.

     (3)  The victim shall not be excluded from any hearing granted under section 706-C and may provide an oral or written statement regarding the impact of the offense on the victim.

     (4)  The court shall not, in modifying a sentence, alter any restitution awarded at the original sentencing, unless the incarcerated individual is found to be innocent.

     §706-G  Right to appeal.  (1)  An appeal from a resentencing proceeding under this part may be taken by the petitioner or prosecuting attorney on the grounds that the resentencing is unlawful, was imposed in an unlawful manner, is too lenient, or is otherwise inappropriate in light of the purposes of sentencing as provided by law.

     (2)  The right to appeal from a sentence modification under this section shall be as of right and shall be exercised on the same terms as an appeal from the original sentence imposed at conviction.

     §706-H  Reinvestment.  (1)  Twenty-five per cent of the savings realized as a result of this part shall be designated to fund prison-based and community-based programs designed to reduce recidivism through education, therapeutic intervention, maintenance of familial and social networks, restorative justice, and successful post-custodial reentry into society.

     (2)  Ten per cent of the savings realized as a result of this part shall be designated to fund dedicated personnel in the offices of the prosecuting attorney and public defender to represent, respectively, the State and the incarcerated individual in all proceedings under this part.

     §706-I  Construction with habeas corpus and other remedies.  (1)  This part shall not be construed to abridge or modify any existing remedy available to an incarcerated individual under habeas corpus, statutory or judicial postconviction relief, or any other legal framework.

     (2)  A petition under this part shall not impact, or be impacted by, any pending habeas corpus or other postconviction proceeding, nor shall the denial of a petition under this part preclude these remedies from being granted."

     SECTION 3.  No later than forty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2027, the department of corrections and rehabilitation shall submit to the legislature, Hawaii paroling authority, and Hawaii correctional system oversight commission a status report of the department's progress toward full compliance with this Act.  The report shall include draft copies of written policies and procedures adopted pursuant to this Act and shall be posted on the department of corrections and rehabilitation's website.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2027.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Judiciary; DCR; Penal Code; Sentencing; Review; Report

 

Description:

Establishes a procedure for incarcerated individuals who have served at least ten years of their sentence to petition the court for a sentence reduction.  Requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to report to the Legislature Hawaii Paroling Authority, and Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.