Editorial: 3-strikes law made more fair by Prop. 66
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 24, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Proposition 66 will help fix the draconian three-strikes law
which has unjustly put thousands in prison for 25 years to
life.
Proposition 66’s biggest change will require an
individual’s third strike to be “serious or
violent.” Currently, any felony counts as the third strike
and nearly 60% of current third-strike inmates are serving for
non-violent, non-serious offenses.
Felonies which could be defined as serious or violent would no
longer include crimes such as burglary of an unoccupied residence
or nonresidential arson resulting in no significant injuries.
Proposition 66 would also require that strikes be issued in
separate trials. It is an important provision, preventing a single
jury from sending a person to prison for life for a collection of
crimes.
Proposition 66 will not prevent District Attorneys from applying
the three strikes law to violent criminals, such as sex offenders,
murderers, or those convicted of other violent felonies. Nor will
it immediately release 26,000 inmates, as some opposition groups
claim.
The state must address the huge proportion of inmates currently
serving lengthy and expensive sentences for minor crimes.
Though Proposition 66 may not make the three-strikes law
perfect, it will still be the toughest three-strike law in the
country and will make the system more focused on truly violent
offenders.
