A Three Strikes initiative slated for the November ballot is designed to reflect the voters’ original intent for the law, according to Geri Silva, the founder of Families to Amend California Three Strikes, a group that supports the initiative. She discussed the measure in May at the San Quentin Catholic Chapel.
Silva said the voters who originally passed the law were not aware they were sending petty offenders to prison for life. Under the existing Three Strikes Law, a defendant could receive sentences of 25 years to life for almost any crime — even minor, nonviolent crimes such as shoplifting or simple drug possession — if he or she has two prior serious or violent felony convictions. People have been sentenced to life in prison for shoplifting a pair of socks or stealing bread, Silva said.
The Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012 would amend the law so that only those with serious, sexual or violent third strike offenses, including using a firearm while committing an offense or possessing a large amount of controlled substances, will be behind bars for life. Defendants with prior convictions for any serious or violent felony punishable by life imprisonment, including child molestation, rape, and murder, will not be affected by the new initiative, even if their third strike was not serious or violent. A recent study by the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates the ballot measure could save more than $100 million per year related to prison and parole operations.
Silva said an estimated 3,000 inmates would be eligible to apply for a new sentence if the initiative passes.
She says the Reform Act has broad bipartisan support from law enforcement leaders like Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, a Republican, and San Francisco County DA George Gascon, a Democrat; and a range of academics, civil rights organizations, and retired judges and prosecutors. Also supporting the measure is Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.
Silva concluded by saying she believes the Reform Act doesn’t go far enough, but her organization will support the bill and promote it in the months ahead through town hall meetings, rallies, candlelight vigils, forums at colleges and universities, churches and in communities across California.
FACTS was formed by small groups of local family members, which merged in 1997. FACTS has grown into the leading organization in the state fighting to change the Three Strike Law.