Joel Botelho was executed in front of his family’s Kaneohe home in 2011 after the shooter ordered him to get down on his knees and beg for his life.

But when it came time to prosecute the killer, he was tried on a charge of murder in the second degree, which carries life in prison with the chance for parole. Most states consider this kind of crime so heinous, it is a first-degree offense with no possibility of parole.

As of Wednesday those types of crimes will be prosecuted to the highest degree in Hawaii, thanks in part to Botelho’s mom, Nonohe Botelho, who campaigned to change the law.

Gov. David Ige on Wednesday signed “Joel’s Law,” or Act 214, an amendment to the state’s narrow first-degree murder law adding anyone who knowingly causes a death while restraining or holding a person for ransom or reward, or using a person as a shield or hostage.

Tears were flowing at a bill-signing ceremony at the state Capitol on Wednesday afternoon. Attending were more than 20 family members, including some who had flown in from Hawaii island, plus Joel Botelho’s parents and his two youngest sons, Hayzn, 8, and Xaynon, 6.

Ige and bill sponsor Rep. John Mizuno (D, Kamehameha Heights-Kalihi Valley) both took the opportunity to thank the mother for her efforts.

“I know you worked very hard to pass Joel’s law,” Ige said.

Joel Botelho, 27, was a journeyman carpenter and former standout student athlete at Castle High School, a star quarterback who played college football at the University of Montana Western and had hoped to be a walk-on at the University of Hawaii.

The young man was acting in the role of peacemaker and hero the night he was killed, stepping into a violent dispute between his younger brother, Leon “Bubba” Botelho, and a former football teammate, Makuola Collins.

Collins, 27, had recruited a group of friends and family to confront Leon Botelho in the early morning hours of Jan. 2, apparently because the man had sucker-punched him at a Kaneohe bar a few hours earlier.

But Collins was met by Joel Botelho, who tried to calm him down. Collins instead forced his former teammate to kneel, and then shot him. He also shot at Leon Botelho, but missed, before fleeing.

Following a trial, Collins was found guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder. He is now serving a life-in-prison term with the possibility of parole.

After her son’s death, Nonohe Botelho committed herself to a crusade of legislative reform, victim’s rights, and helping grieving families cope with difficult court proceedings.

“It’s been a long journey and a long haul for me but I’ve learned a lot — a large learning curve during this legislative session,” she told the governor Wednesday.

Up to now, the only killers who faced a first-degree murder rap in Hawaii were those who killed more than one person or those who killed a law enforcement officer, judge or prosecutor arising out of the performance of official duties, or those who killed certain individuals involved in court cases or protected by police.

“This is the first time the state has recognized not the number of people that you kill or the class of people that are killed or the status of a person. But this is the first time in our history that we have an actual type of murder (qualify for first-degree sentencing),” Nonohe Botelho said.

“When someone is brutally killed, maimed or dismembered or executed, we must address this in our law. And this is what Joel’s Law has been all about for me,” she said.

The mother, wearing the No. 1 jersey worn by her son during a high school all-star game, looked at his sons through her tears.

“This is for them, because I want them to know that their daddy didn’t die in vain,” she said. “And, boys, this is historic for you and your daddy. (It means) we don’t have to settle disputes in a violent way, that we can look to our lawmakers to make things right, if we have to.”

Nonohe Botelho said her four-year campaign to reform Hawaii’s first-degree murder law will continue next year with the aim of achieving “equal protection for all,” including the unborn and little children.

“Forty-eight other states recognize that murdered children deserve first-degree protection,” she said. “My crusade now is to protect our youngest citizens and to protect all of our taxpayers” with the greatest degree of sentencing for anyone who kills in a heinous and cruel way.

Among the handful of other victim’s rights advocates on hand Wednesday was Nadine Onodera, whose 24-year-old son was murdered in 1983 in Hawaii Kai. Onodera, the first Hawaii chapter president of Parents of Murdered Children, called Joel’s Law an important step forward.

Nonohe Botelho’s work with victims goes way back, having worked for the city prosecutor’s office and the Oahu Children’s Justice Center as a victim’s witness advocate.

“I know a little bit about how the system works. Most people in my position do not have that experience, and I was fortunate to know a little bit — just enough to make me dangerous,” she said, laughing. “I’m not an attorney but after four years of studying the law, I might as well be.”

At Wednesday’s signing ceremony, many family members wore T-shirts announcing the family’s annual Joel Botelho Memorial Flag Football Tournament honoring Joel and others lost to violence.

Joel Botelho and his friends played a “New Year’s Bowl” flag football tournament on Jan. 1 for years, his mother said, and after his death, the event evolved into a benefit.

“It’s grown from a dozen guys to 30 teams, and we had to cap it because the field couldn’t fit us all,” she said. “At halftime we estimated between 900 and a 1,000 spectators and players.”