A heavy majority of Californians favor amending the Three Strikes Law, according to recent public opinion polls.
A Field Poll in June found 74 percent favor more discretion in sentencing to help ease prison overcrowding; 24 percent were opposed.
The poll come on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling ordering California to curb prison overcrowding.
The poll found 79 percent of those surveyed consider the matter serious. California Watch director Mark DiCamillo said, “Voters really are less supportive of the prisons and budgets that are given to the prisons. They’d much rather fund K-12 schools or higher education.”
The poll asked voters whether the Three Strike Law, which passed in 1994, should be modified to allow judges and juries more discretion when sentencing a criminal for a third felony.
The poll also found the public’s willingness to exclude nonviolent and non-serious offenses and property crimes as a third strike.
A vote on an initiative to change the law is expected next year, spearheaded by the Stanford School of Law’s Three Strikes Project.
After the proposed initiative language is approved by the attorney general, voter signatures can be collected to place the measure on the ballot. Observers expect the initiative to exclude non-serious offenses, such as petty theft, receiving stolen property, or possession of .08 of drugs from counting as a third strike.
The initiative is expected to be made retroactive, with nonviolent and non-serious offenders eligible for re-sentencing.
The Legislative Analyst Office estimates incarceration cost of those strikes now under the law will total $19.2 billion over 10 years. Additionally, the auditor has concluded amending the law to eliminate life sentences to 4,000 nonviolent and non-serious offenders will save the state hundreds of millions of dollars.
The San Jose Mercury News reported the initiative supporters have secured the financial backing of David W. Mills, a Stanford law professor and former investment banker. The newspaper also reported the initiative is expected to limit third strikes to violent or serious crimes.