Originally Posted by
LLL
Those currently serving life sentences for third strikes that were not serious or violent crimes will now be able to petition in court for altered sentences. Latest estimates put that number at about 3,000 inmates. Going forward, those who have previously been convicted of one or more serious or violent felonies may be charged with a second strike for a new crime, whether or not it's serious or violent. That means they'll be eligible for double the sentence of those with no criminal histories.
http://www.scpr.org/blogs/politics/2...passes-easily/
Doesn't seem terrible to me.
Read the bolded part again.
It means that criminals who have TWO separate convictions for serious or violent crimes will now be eligible to get released immediately, just because their third strike wasn't as serious.
For example, let's say we have a criminal with a history of armed robbery and a later conviction for assault with a deadly weapon. Shortly after getting out of prison, he commits the lesser crime of purse-snatching.
The
old Three Strikes would say, "You know what? This guy has done enough. Lock him up for 25 years. Even if the purse snatching by itself isn't violent or serious, it's clear that this guy hasn't gone straight, and it's only a matter of time before he commits another violent crime."
The
new Three Strikes would say, "25 years for purse snatching? OMG OMG OMG, miscarriage of justice! Reduce the sentence, and kick him back onto the streets immediately if he's already been in prison for a few years."
3,000 people with a story similar to the hypothetical above will be back on California streets.
I think anyone who has committed two violent felonies in the past, and is STILL committing felonies in the present -- whether violent or not -- needs to be taken out of society.
Expect another proposition in the future that modifies Three Strikes back to what it was, after one of these early-released felons goes out and kills someone.