Bill: Don’t Throw, Kick, Burn, Bite Or Cut Your Keiki
Senate BIll 870, introduced by Senate Judiciary and Labor Chairman Clayton Hee, would establish the types of physical force “presumed unjustifiable” when used to discipline minors.
The bill is for the purposes of “responding to charges of abuse of family or household member, assault, or other criminal charges.”
Unjustifiable force from a parent or guardian is defined in the bill as ”throwing, kicking, burning, biting, cutting, striking with a closed fist, shaking a minor under three years of age, interfering with breathing, threatening with a deadly weapon, or striking on the face.”
Kauai and Honolulu county prosecuting attorneys are in support of SB 870 but the state public defender’s office is not, according to testimony.
