Hawaii Revised Statutes

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 710-1021 (2026)

Escape in the second degree

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section HI-LEGcapitol.hawaii.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

§710-1021 Escape in the second degree. (1) A person commits the offense of escape in the second degree if the person intentionally escapes from a correctional or detention facility or from custody.

(2) Escape in the second degree is a class C felony. [L 1972, c 9, pt of 1; gen ch 1993]

Case Notes

District court erred in holding that defendant's conviction for second degree escape from custody under this section was a "crime of violence" for purposes of U.S. Sentencing Guideline §4B1.1(a). 782 F.3d 510 (2015).

There was no support for the government's argument that §710-1000(3) [defining "custody"] sets forth "elements" that the prosecution must prove in order to sustain a conviction under this section; none of the modes of custody set forth in §710-1000(3) is an element of the crime of escape from custody. 782 F.3d 510 (2015).

Defense of necessity under §703-302 is available in escape situations. 58 H. 252, 566 P.2d 1378 (1977).

Minor failing to return to detention facility after furlough commits escape. 59 H. 456, 583 P.2d 337 (1978).

Sufficiency of indictment. 59 H. 549, 584 P.2d 117 (1978).

Arrest is complete and defendant is in "custody" when defendant has submitted to police and process of taking defendant to police station or to a judge has commenced. 62 H. 99, 612 P.2d 102 (1980).

Although not handcuffed, defendant had been placed under arrest and was therefore in custody for purposes of escape statute. 72 H. 360, 817 P.2d 1060 (1991).

Where furloughee on extended work furlough failed to check in with his case manager at work furlough center, the intermediate court of appeals erred in affirming circuit court decision that failure to check in while on extended furlough is punishable as escape in the second degree. 138 H. 254, 378 P.3d 970 (2016).

COMMENTARY ON §§710-1020 AND 710-1021

The basic offense of escape is punished by the Code as a class C felony. When the aggravating circumstances of force or violence are present, the grade of the offense is increased to a class B felony.

Escape is a fairly serious offense not only because of the potential danger to guards and bystanders incident to the nature of the activity but because it undermines the effectiveness of the system of criminal correction and punishment. From the administrative point of view, there are the disruptions of prison routine and the expense of recapture to consider as additional social evils. Moreover, when a question is raised concerning the legality of the detention, it is desirable to encourage reliance on legal processes, rather than self-help, to terminate any unjustified detention. In the absence of force or violence, the above social dangers and administrative inconvenience, alone, justify the class C felony sanction.

Previous Hawaii law graded escape on the basis of the crime for which the actor was originally in custody.[1] There are two objections to this approach. First, where the actor has been lawfully imprisoned as a sanction for a crime which the actor has committed, the danger presented by the actor's escape is sui generis and has nothing to do with the offense for which the actor was committed. If a thief and a forger (or an accused thief and an accused forger) were to escape by identical methods, they should be penalized identically, according to the danger presented by their escapes alone. Hence, the Code has rejected this aspect of the former law and grades escapes according to the degree of individual and social danger presented by the actor's conduct.

SUPPLEMENTAL COMMENTARY ON §§710-1020 AND 710-1021

The Code as adopted by the legislature in 1972 differs from the Proposed Draft in two areas. First, it includes escapes from "correctional" as well as "detention" facilities while the Proposed Draft did not. Correctional facilities were included in order to clarify that the offenses apply to existing diagnostic and rehabilitation programs as well as detention facilities. Conference Committee Report No. 2 (1972).

Second, the Code makes the penalty for escape more severe than the Proposed Draft. Under the Code, escape in the first degree is a class B felony, and escape in the second degree is a class C felony. The Proposed Draft had stated the penalties as class C and misdemeanor, respectively.

__________

§§710-1020 And 710-1021 Commentary:

1. H.R.S. §§740-1 through 740-3.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 17 cases, 1977–2020 · leading case: State v. Paris., 378 P.3d 970 (Haw. 2016).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

State v. Paris., 378 P.3d 970 (Haw. 2016). · cites it 29× “HRS § 710-1021 states, “A person commits the offense of escape in the second degree if the person intentionally escapes from a correctional or detention facility or from custody.”

State v. Pacheco, 26 P.3d 572 (Haw. 2001). · cites it 5× “HRS § 710-1021 provides that "[a] person commits the offense of escape in the second degree if the person intentionally escapes from a correctional or detention facility or from custody.”

State v. Smith, 583 P.2d 337 (Haw. 1978). · cites it 6× “See Commentary on HRS § 710-1021 (1976 Repl.). 5 It is evident to us that intentional failure to return to physical confinement would fall within the definition of escape from custody.”

State v. Abihai., 463 P.3d 1055 (Haw. 2020). · cites it 5× “2 HRS § 710-1021 provides: Escape in the second degree.”

State v. Jumila, 950 P.2d 1201 (Haw. 1998). · cites it 4× “…HRS § 708-841; Theft of Credit Cards, HRS § 708-8102(1); Money Laundering, HRS § 708A-3; Escape in the Second Degree, HRS § 710-1021; Intimidating a Correctional Worker, HRS § 710-1031; Intimidating a Witness, HRS § 710-1071; Retaliating Against a Witness, HRS § 710-1072.2;…”

State v. Nakoa, 817 P.2d 1060 (Haw. 1991). · cites it 7× “The escape statute, HRS § 710-1021, provides in pertinent part: “(1) A person commits the offense of escape in the second degree if he intentionally escapes .”

State v. Horn, 566 P.2d 1378 (Haw. 1977). · cites it 2× “The defendants, Horn and Ortiz, were indicted and convicted by a jury of the crime of escape in the second degree (HRS § 710-1021). They appeal from the judgment and sentence of the circuit court.”

State v. Ortiz, 4 P.3d 533 (Haw. App. 2000). · cites it 4× “On December 15, 1997, the jury found Ortiz guilty of the included offense of Escape in the Second Degree, a violation of HRS § 710-1021 (1993). 5 On February 26, 1998, the State moved for an extended term of imprisonment, 6 and on March 12, 1998, Ortiz was sentenced to…”

State v. Ryan, 612 P.2d 102 (Haw. 1980). · cites it 4× “This is an appeal by the defendant who was convicted of the offense of escape in the second degree, under the provision of HRS § 710-1021 which provides that “[a] person commits the offense of escape in the second degree if he intentionally és capes from a correctional or…”

Matsuo v. State, 778 P.2d 332 (Haw. 1989). · cites it 2× “1 HRS § 710-1021 (1985) provides in pertinent part (emphasis added): Escape in the second degree.”

State v. Akahi, 988 P.2d 667 (Haw. App. 1999). · cites it 8× “Kaahanui was indicted for the following offenses: Count Two, Escape in the Second Degree, HRS § 710-1021, 4 and Count *150 Three, 5 Hindering Prosecution in the Second Degree, HRS § 710-1030 (1993).”

State v. Okumura, 570 P.2d 848 (Haw. 1977). “1 Appellant was convicted under § 710-1021, Hawaii Revised Statutes (Special Pamphlet 1975).”

Show all 17 citing cases →

— Haw. Rev. Stat. § 710-1021(1) — 4 cases

State v. Pacheco, 26 P.3d 572 (Haw. 2001). “HRS § 710-1021 provides that "[a] person commits the offense of escape in the second degree if the person intentionally escapes from a correctional or detention facility or from custody.”

State v. Smith, 583 P.2d 337 (Haw. 1978). “See Commentary on HRS § 710-1021 (1976 Repl.). 5 It is evident to us that intentional failure to return to physical confinement would fall within the definition of escape from custody.”

State v. Nakoa, 817 P.2d 1060 (Haw. 1991). “The escape statute, HRS § 710-1021, provides in pertinent part: “(1) A person commits the offense of escape in the second degree if he intentionally escapes .”

State v. Akahi, 988 P.2d 667 (Haw. App. 1999). “Kaahanui was indicted for the following offenses: Count Two, Escape in the Second Degree, HRS § 710-1021, 4 and Count *150 Three, 5 Hindering Prosecution in the Second Degree, HRS § 710-1030 (1993).”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.