EDITORIAL: Farmers need help, not more violence

For many city dwellers, quashing crime typically ranks near the top of their government to-do hierarchy — from staid white-collar misdeeds to the more sinister robbery, assault and murder. Not often discussed or considered is an equally egregious set of offenses that comprise agricultural crime. When such acts do rise above the noise, however, it is often due to tragic ends.

Cranston Duke Pia, a 39-year-old rancher from Makaha, was shot and killed on Feb. 17, 2024, following an altercation with hunters trespassing on his Ohikolo Ranch. Pia’s mother told police that her son, after seeing what he thought were wild dogs attacking a calf penned on the property, reached for a rifle and fired a warning shot in the animals’ direction. It was at this point that Chantston Pila Kekawa, then 17 and brandishing a handgun, allegedly emerged from nearby bushes to confront Pia, claiming the dogs were his. An argument ended with Pia struck dead by a single gunshot to his head.

That tragedy has thrown a spotlight on troubling increases in agricultural crimes, setting in dramatic relief the pernicious threat that is all too common for farmers and ranchers. Complaints run the gamut, but many in the industry say trespassers and theft — including robbery of livestock and working animals — are regular concerns. Others cite poaching as a constant source of consternation.

Clearly something must be done, and state legislators agree. However, Senate Bill 1248, which would create a stand-your-ground law for agricultural properties, is not the answer.

Dubbed the “Cranston Duke Pia Act,” SB 1248 seeks to ensure no other agricultural worker suffers the same fate as its namesake. A noble and just cause, to be sure, but methods to address such serious matters must not themselves morph into unsustainable problems.

SB 1248 would shift criminal law for incidents on agricultural land, establishing a legal right to employ, under certain circumstances, deadly force to protect oneself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping, rape or forcible sodomy “without retreating.” Under the bill, farmers and ranchers would be able to “estimate the necessity” of lethal protective force and use it when deemed fit, provided they are not the aggressor.

Although farmers showed strong support for the bill in testimony, as did HDOA, citing a dire need for crime prevention, leaping to such an extreme is not beneficial.

Many agricultural crimes involve nonviolent offenses, not egregious acts leading to bodily harm or death. Stand-your-ground laws can be an effective deterrent against heinous crimes in mainland states where break-ins, kidnapping and murder are prevalent. But that is not the situation here.

There have been few reported cases to which SB 1248 would apply, and fewer still where lives might have been saved by stand-your-ground protections. Indeed, authorizing discretionary application of lethal force in an already fraught landscape could lead to an increase in unnecessary shootings.

Without escalating violence, farmers and ranchers have the right to protect themselves and their land, of that there is no question. These vital community contributors say existing laws are failing them — and the Legislature must listen and take action. A sensible option would amplify existing frameworks of enforcement, ensuring that laws on the books are efficiently administered.

That is what’s offered with SB 1249, an omnibus bill that clarifies and strengthens existing agriculture-related laws through tougher penalties, and establishes an agricultural crime prevention program within HDOA. Competitive grants would help property owners purchase protective equipment such as cameras, fencing and signage, with additional funds routed toward organizations tasked with deterring, preventing and investigating agricultural crimes.

Hawaii’s agricultural workers must be protected. An emotional response to an intolerable tragedy serves only to hinder that cause.