THREE STRIKES AND YOUR OUT!

California’s Three Strikes Law:
Unjust, Wasteful and
Opposed by a majority of Californians
I
In 1994, spurred by the murder of Polly Klaas, Californians passed a Three Strikes law. Californians overwhelmingly supported the law – but they believed it targeted violent and serious felons. In fact, more than half of the people punished under our Three Strikes laws are convicted of non-violent offenses, and Polly Klaas' grandfather, Joe Klaas, now believes that, because of this, the Three Strikes law needs to be reformed.
Steven Davis and his girlfriend killed themselves after Davis was notified by the Sacramento District Attorney that he had two strikes, which would force him to serve 25 years to life for possessing marijuana and methamphetamine.
Robert Blasi received a 31-year sentence for stealing a pair of AA batteries.
Nathan Thomas, a young man with a history of homelessness, shoplifted three packs of T-shirts from J.C. Penny and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The law is so broad that it treats stealing t-shirts as equal to attempted murder. People who have stolen a pizza or forged a check are now locked up for twenty-five years to life, just like murderers and rapists. Californians never intended this.
122The Principles of Three Strikes Reform122
The Punishment Should Fit the Crime. Crimes such as petty theft, possession of marijuana, or passing a bad check do not deserve the same sentence as murder or rape, but over 4,000 people – over 57% of Three Strikers – are locked up for 25-year to life sentences for nonviolent offenses such as these.
We Should Target Our Resources Wisely. California spends around 31,000 a year for each prisoner, but that figure is based on the current average age for inmates, and as inmates age, the expense of housing and caring for them rises steeply. Geriatric inmates can cost as much as three times more. Our over-broad law will force future generations to pay billions to house petty criminals, threatening our system of higher education. In California’s current budget crisis, facing a $14 billion deficit, it’s critical that we rethink our wasteful and ineffective system.
Deterring Violent Crime Should Be the Priority. According to a 1999 study by the Justice Policy Institute, in the 1990's crime rates actually fell faster in Alameda and San Francisco counties, where Three Strikes laws are used to target only violent and serious offenses, than in Los Angeles and Sacramento counties, where prosecutors applied the law broadly to all felonies.
California Voters Should Have the Chance to Decide. 72% of Californians believe that Three
Strikes should focus on serious or violent felonies, not on petty theft or drug possession. Since California’s politicians have failed to address the injustice and waste of our Three Strikes law in every legislative session since it passed, it’s time for the people of California to decide.
Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes ~ FACTS 3982 S. Figueroa St #209 Los Angeles, CA 90037 213.746.4844 www.facts1.com