California- 3 Strikes reform is on the ballot…..!!!!
It’s official…we have a ballot number!
Vote YES on Proposition 36 in November for 3-Strikes Reform!
Proposition 36
1530. (11-0057) – Final Random Sample Update – 06/11/12
Three Strikes Law. Sentencing for Repeat Felony Offenders. Initiative Statute.
Qualified: 06/11/12
Proponent: David Mills c/o Dan Newman (415) 981-9940
Revises three strikes law to impose life sentence only when new felony conviction is serious or violent. Authorizes re-sentencing for offenders currently serving life sentences if third strike conviction was not serious or violent and judge determines sentence does not pose unreasonable risk to public safety. Continues to impose life sentence penalty if third strike conviction was for certain non-serious, non-violentsex or drug offenses or involved firearm possession. Maintains life sentence penalty for felons with non-serious, non-violent third strike if prior convictions were for rape, murder, or child molestation. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: State savings related to prison and parole operations that potentially range in the high tens of millions of dollars annually in the short run, possibly exceeding $100 million annually in the long run. Increased state and county costs in the millions to low tens of millions of dollars annually in the first few years, likely declining substantially in future years, for state court activities and county jail, community supervision, and court-related activities. (11-0057) (Full Text)
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/qualified-ballot-measures.htm
Related articles
- Rethinking “tough on crime” (salon.com)
- Ballot proposal to reform California’s three-strikes law moves forward (sentencing.typepad.com)
- Group submits initiative petitions to change three-strikes law (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
Three Strikes Laws Legal Definition:
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Three+Strikes+Laws
10 Reasons to Oppose “3 Strikes, You’re Out”
The American public is alarmed about crime, and with good reason. Our crime rate is unacceptably high, and many Americans feel like prisoners in their own homes, afraid to venture out for fear of becoming another statistic.
For more than past 20 years, state and federal crime control policies have been based on the belief that harsh sentencing laws will deter people from committing crimes. But today, with more than one million people behind bars, and state budgets depleted by the huge costs of prison construction, we are no safer than before. New approaches to the problem of crime are needed, but instead, our political leaders keep serving up the same old strategies.
Take the so-called “3 Strikes, You’re Out” law, for example. Embraced by state legislators, Congress and the President himself, this law imposes a mandatory life sentence without parole on offenders convicted of certain crimes. Despite its catchy baseball metaphor, this law is a loser, for the following reasons.
To Continue Reading:
http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice_prisoners-rights_drug-law-reform_immigrants-rights/10-reasons-oppose-3-strikes-youre-
http://www.lao.ca.gov/2005/3_strikes/3_strikes_102005.htm
A Primer: Three Strikes – The Impact After More Than a Decade
After 17 years, three-strikes law is still hotly debated
Supporters of the tough sentencing rules say the law applies to a lifetime of crime, while opponents say tough punishments often are out of proportion to the underlying crimes.
Group submits initiative petitions to change three-strikes law
A coalition of law enforcement officials, civil rights organizations and taxpayer groups on Thursday said it has submitted enough signatures to local election officials to qualify a November ballot initiative to change California’s three-strikes law.
The landmark law, which imposes harsh penalties on repeat offenders, remains controversial 18 years after passage, with activists and authorities alike asking whether its tough sentences sometimes far exceed the crimes.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/04/california-three-strikes-law-initiative-petitions.html
It is now 2012 and Americans want to downsize the prison population. American’s don’t want to be known as “Incarceration Nation.”
Now if we can get these other states to follow suit with California. We need reform.
| As of May 1999, these are the 24 states that have some sort of a Three Strikes sentencing law. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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