May 31, 2011
“Three-strikes” opponents see hope in SCOTUS ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week requiring California to cut its prison population by more than 33,000 inmates within two years could boost efforts to modify or repeal the state’s three-strikes law, which some say keeps nonviolent offenders in prison for far too long.
The law, approved by voters and the Legislature in 1994, significantly increased prison terms for repeat offenders with previous convictions for violent or serious felonies as defined by state law, putting some behind bars for life.
Opponents of the three-strikes law have argued for years that it is overly harsh and keeps people in prison decades after they stop being dangerous — because of age, medical problems or both — exacerbating the state’s prison overcrowding problem...
LINK - SignonSanDiego.com
