Defendants convicted of committing felony crimes against the homeless could face extended prison sentences under bills moving through the state Legislature.
Advocates said Senate Bill 2395 and House Bill 2591 were drafted in response to the alarming uptick in murder and assault of homeless individuals in recent months.
"With the recent increase in violence against homeless persons, we realize that perhaps there were some people that were really targeting homeless people," Connie Mitchell, executive director of the Institute for Human Services, said in a phone interview Friday.
Mitchell said she asked legislators to introduce the bills to send a message that targeting homeless individuals because of their housing status is not acceptable and could be regarded as a hate crime, if proved.
The bills would also list homeless individuals under the state’s extended sentencing statute as a vulnerable class of people, along with seniors, the handicapped and young children.
Mitchell pointed to last month’s stabbing of Scott MacMillan, a Kalaheo High School graduate and former chef at Lucy’s Grill & Bar and Island Fusion, as an example of why individuals without homes should be considered vulnerable. MacMillan, 37, was stabbed Jan. 16 while sleeping in an area on Uluniu Street in Kailua near Cinnamon’s Restaurant.
"If (people) don’t see it as being vulnerable, I would say, ‘If you were to spend a night or two on the street without a place to go and without the four walls of security that most of us have at night, you might feel differently,’" Mitchell said.
Another homeless man, 62-year-old Anthony Montero, also known as Paul A. Manner, was allegedly attacked by a group of teenagers near South King and Punahou streets, where he had been sleeping. Police charged a 16-year-old boy from Palolo with second-degree murder in connection with the case.
"Someone who’s homeless already has lost a lot of resources," Mitchell said. "And many of them are suffering from mental illness or they’re suffering from some medical health problem, and many of them nowadays — they’re older, so there are a lot of things that are making them a little bit more vulnerable than the typical person who has a home."
The bills were originally written to require that defendants convicted of crimes against homeless individuals face mandatory minimum sentences. However, advocates testified before lawmakers against those provisions because homeless-on-homeless violence could result in perpetrators with untreated mental illness being unfairly targeted.
"Judges do need the discretion to make the decision under all of the circumstances," Jenny Lee, staff attorney for the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, told members of the House Human Services Committee during a hearing on HB 2591 Thursday. "We believe that those two amendments (to make crimes against homeless eligible for extended sentencing) would strengthen this bill and really better address the intent that we seek to achieve here, which is to recognize the humanity of people experiencing homelessness, that they are a vulnerable population and that it’s absolutely necessary that we provide this protection."
Both chambers accepted amendments provided by advocates, and the bills have been forwarded to the House and Senate Judiciary committees.
Other recent homeless victims include:
» Robert Coleman Jr., 48, who died after being stabbed at Kailua District Park on July 12. Another homeless man, Brian Kim, 58, was charged with second-degree murder.
» Lynn Riley, 49, was killed Oct. 1 in Aala Park. Ronald Page, 58, who also was homeless, was charged with second-degree murder. The Medical Examiner’s Office said Riley died of bleeding in the skull due to blunt force injury from the assault.
» Mamer "Eddie" Semana, 83, died Dec. 5. He was found unconscious in Chinatown with head injuries a day earlier. R.J. Marsolo, 18, was charged with second-degree murder and third-degree assault. The Medical Examiner’s Office said Semana died from blunt force injuries to his head.
