A pregnant woman is wounded and her unborn child and teenage son killed in a terrifying knife attack on the Big Island.

An elderly man is beaten for trying to prevent a deadly public assault on a Kailua woman.

A mother's drug abuse may have left her toddler vulnerable to being thrown off a freeway overpass in Downtown Honolulu. A teenager is accused of raping and murdering an 'Ewa Beach woman in her home.

These unspeakable crimes inspired state lawmakers to propose new legislation this session to try to avoid similar tragedies in the future.

But as lawmakers prepare to close the session on Thursday, only one bill related to these crimes remains alive.

Despite the best intentions, and genuine empathy for crime victims and their families, lawmakers often find their initial reaction — their desire to do something — changes under the scrutiny of the legislative process. Or, as one legislative staffer said, "hard cases make bad law."

"It's complicated. At first glance, it seems like we can address these problems with simple solutions," said state Rep. Tommy Waters, D-51st (Lanikai, Waimanalo), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. "But once we look into it, there are all of these possibly unintended results."

Each of the four crimes prompted different bills, and each of the bills had different reasons for not advancing. The bills had the early advantage of media coverage and, in some cases, influential sponsors in the House and Senate.

But the bills were not among the priorities of law enforcement and failed to attract much public momentum. With all of the hurdles built into the legislative process, it is easier for lawmakers to defer bills that do not have widespread popular support than to take action.

"You don't really want your Legislature to react emotionally to the issue of the day, no matter how worthy it might seem to be," said Andy Levin, executive director to Big Island Mayor Harry Kim and a former state senator.

"You want there to be some perspective, and I think that it's too easy to take the knee-jerk position on an emotional issue and then regret it afterwards."

Susan Arnett, a deputy public defender, said lawmakers need to be careful when responding to high-profile crimes to determine whether they are addressing gaps in existing law.

"If the answer is 'no,' then it's probably not a good idea," she said.

PREGNANT WOMEN

The knife attack last June by a Hawai'i National Guard staff sergeant against his pregnant wife and her teenage son led to a bill calling for longer prison sentences for felony assaults on pregnant women.

Waters proposed adding pregnant women to the section of the sentencing law that now applies to felony crimes against the elderly, children and people with disabilities. Waters purposely avoided any new legal recognition of the fetus because he did not want to open a debate about abortion. But abortion-rights advocates warned him not to move the bill so Waters ended up squashing his own proposal.

"That's part of the reason I let it die, because it became so controversial (on abortion), which is exactly what I was trying to avoid," Waters said.

GOOD SAMARITANS

An elderly man who was beaten in January when he tried to intervene in the fatal attack on Janel Tupuola by her ex-boyfriend in Kailua prompted a bill to protect Good Samaritans.

State Senate Minority Leader Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo, Hawai'i Kai), proposed adding Good Samaritans to the same section of the sentencing law identified by Waters to help protect pregnant women.

But the bill collapsed over the definition of Good Samaritan, since it could provide a shield for people who jump into fights or say their assaults are motivated to rescue others.

Hemmings, however, believes the bill was killed by majority Democrats because he is a Republican.

"There is also a liberal consistency among the majority party to err on the side of the criminal in the criminal justice system," Hemmings said.

Waters said the protections for pregnant women and Good Samaritans could come back before lawmakers again. "We will go back to the drawing board and see if a possible compromise can be reached next year," he said.

Tupuola's death did help inspire a separate bill, up for a final vote this week, on electronic monitoring of domestic abusers. Lawmakers did not approve any new money for the program, however, so judges will decide whether defendants have the financial means to pay for electronic monitoring. The bill also sunsets in two years.

"If she had known that he was in the area, she could have avoided him possibly. So that's the kind of thing that this bill is trying to address," said state Rep. Maile Shimabukuro, D-45th (Wai'anae, Makaha, Makua), the chairwoman of the House Human Services and Housing Committee.

CYRUS BELT

The death of toddler Cyrus Belt, who was thrown from an H-1 Freeway overpass in January by a suspected drug abuser, led to proposals for drug testing and stricter oversight of parents who have had problems with drugs or child abuse. Belt's mother had a history of drug abuse and the state raised questions about whether the child was properly supervised.

One proposal would have required the state to investigate reports of drug abuse in homes with children within 24 hours. Another would require parents to be drug-free for 60 days and in treatment before they can regain custody of children who have been taken by the state for their protection.

Both ideas did not survive practical concerns about manpower and state resources.

"I get emotionally attached to some of these bills and I really don't see why some of them can't pass, but I also understand the legislative process," said state Rep. John Mizuno, D-30th (Kamehameha Heights, Kalihi Valley, Fort Shafter), vice chairman of the House Health Committee. "I don't want us to be knee-jerk."

KAREN'S LAW

The rape and murder last May of Karen Ertell of 'Ewa Beach, allegedly by a 15-year-old neighbor, prompted a bill that would have subjected juveniles accused of certain violent felonies to automatically be tried as adults.

Waters declined to hear the bill, known as "Karen's law," in his committee.

State Rep. Kymberly Pine, R-43rd ('Ewa Beach, Iroquois Point, Pu'uloa), who introduced the bill, believes Waters, a defense attorney and former public defender, and other Democrats are too sympathetic to the rights of criminal defendants.

"The challenge? You want to know what the challenge is? The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is a former public defender," Pine said. "They believe criminals have more rights than victims."

Waters said no lawmaker favors criminals.

"It's just more complicated than that," he said. "It's easy to say you're tough on crime but it's harder to be smart on crime, which is what we're trying to do."

Kevin Callahan, who was Ertel's boyfriend, said he understands lawmakers may have to draft legislation that applies to patterns of criminal behavior rather than one specific crime. But he also said lawmakers should listen to the public's response to these type of crimes.

"I think the lawmakers need to take a closer look at these things that the public is outraged by," Callahan said. "They really need to listen to the voters."