A judge has ordered the release of Gregory Taylor, a man serving 25 years to life under California’s three-strikes law.
Taylor, homeless in 1997, was caught attempting to pry open the doors to the soup kitchen at a downtown Los Angeles church; he told police that he was hungry. In 1984 and 1985, while addicted to crack cocaine and heroin, Mr. Taylor carried out two robberies to support his habits. No weapons were used and there were no injuries. Judge Peter Espinoza ordered Mr. Taylor’s release, saying that the three-strikes law often brings sentences that are “disproportionate” and frequently results in “unanticipated consequences.”
Fourteen inmates have been resentenced since law students of the Three Strikes Project at Stanford Law School began reviewing cases in 2007. Cases are chosen from letters sent by inmates, or from names presented by Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley. According to the national defense advocacy group, the Sentencing Project, 24 states have laws similar to California’s three-strikes.
