Those who supported Proposition 66 have vowed to continue their efforts to modify or repeal the “Three Strikes” law. Schwarzenegger has said that he would be interested in fixing problems with the current “Three Strikes” law. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other former California governors defeated the proposition by a close vote of 53% to 47%. Only a last minute aggressive public awareness campaign led by Gov. Pre-election opinion polls indicated broad public support for Proposition 66. It would have resulted in the wholesale release of thousands of dangerous criminals. In 2004, voters’ were asked to approve a ballot measure that virtually all law enforcement officials believed would have undercut the “Three Strikes” law. This new policy has worked well and has been well received by law enforcement the courts and the community at large. Since December 2000, prosecutors have implemented this policy and virtually eliminated 25-years-to-life sentences for petty thieves and petty drug offenders. This policy avoids injustice and abuse in the form of disproportionately harsh sentences of 25 years to life for relatively minor crimes.
It is generally sentenced as a second-strike case. District Attorney’s Office requires’ that if a potential third strike is not a serious or violent felony, it will not be treated as a third-strike case except in unusual circumstances. Immediately after being sworn in, I made good on that pledge. As a candidate for Los Angeles County district attorney in 1999, I pledged to issue a new “Three Strikes” policy for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Such inequality causes the public to question whether the criminal justice system is actually dispensing evenhanded justice. Thus, California has a system that can vary widely and result in inequality depending on the county in which the crime is committed and which court sentences the offender. As a result, policies and practices changed in some counties. impose a more appropriate sentence on the present offense. In 1996, the state Supreme Court ruled that judges retained discretion under the law to disregard a prior strike in the, interest of justice and. A second shoplifting offense, writing a bad check for more than $200 and possessing a small amount of illegal drugs for personal use are all felonies that could trigger the 25-years-to-life sentence. In California, many crimes are punishable as felonies but are not labeled as serious or violent by the Penal Code. Some observers credit the declining crime rates in most counties to this recidivist sentencing law.Īt first, many prosecutors and judges felt “Three Strikes” sentences were mandatory in all qualifying cases, no matter what the nature of the triggering’ felony. The law also doubled the penalty for anyone convicted of a felony who had been previously convicted of one serious or violent felony,a second-strike Thousands of recidivists have been Imprisoned under, the secondand third-strike statutory schemes. In 1994, California voters overwhelming approved Proposition 184, the “Three Strikes,”‘ which mandated a sentence of 25 years to life imprisonment for anyone convicted of any felony if that person had been previously convicted of two or more serious or violent felonies.
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