A resolution urging the creation of a “clemency program for individuals who have been prosecuted for cannabis-related offenses” has been passed unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee, after having already made its way through the House of Representatives.
“BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, the Senate concurring, that the Governor is urged to initiate a clemency program for individuals who have been prosecuted for cannabis-related offenses”, states House Concurrent Resolution 51, “and that the Governor is urged to seek the assistance of The Last Prisoner Project and Hawaii Innocence Project in implementing a clemency program for individuals who have been prosecuted for cannabis-related offenses”.
The resolution was passed on 4/20 by the Senate Judiciary Committee in a unanimous 5 to 0 vote. It was passed through the House with just one “No” vote.
The proposal was filed by State Representative Jeanne Kapela and seven other lawmakers.
The preamble to the resolution states:
- the war on drugs has been found to be destructive and devasting to immigrant, indigenous, and low-income individuals, families, and communities; and
- mass incarceration is significantly worsened by the war on drugs, which includes the criminalization of cannabis possession; and
- the prosecution of cannabis offenses has deprived people of accessing higher education, housing, employment, individual liberty, and the right to vote; and
- in enacting programs to legalize adult-use recreational cannabis, many of these states have instituted expungement or other forms of clemency and record clearance for individuals who have been prosecuted for cannabis-related offenses; and
- The Last Prisoner Project, a leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to cannabis criminal justice reform, has stated that the Governor has the legal authority to undertake a targeted relief and clemency program for individuals in Hawaii who have been prosecuted for cannabis-related offenses; and
- The Last Prisoner Project and Hawaii Innocence Project are prepared to assist the Governor and Attorney General in facilitating a clemency program for people who have been prosecuted for cannabis related offenses; now, therefore,
The resolution’s full text can be found by clicking here.
