The Great Pizza Felony : Three strikes: 25 years for petty theft, 5 for homicide--a clear case of D.A. grandstanding.

Last week, a 27-year-old Compton warehouseman was sentenced to a prison term of 25 years to life for his third-strike felony offense. His crime: stealing a piece of pepperoni pizza.

The impetus for the “three strikes and you’re out” law was the desire to rid society of three-time losers. But, regrettably, the law failed to specify who would qualify for this Draconian punishment, leaving the door open for nonviolent petty thieves in addition to hardened, violent criminals. Under the three-strikes law, however, district attorneys have the discretion in such cases as the pizza theft to charge the “third strike,” a misdemeanor theft, as a felony. That discretion is being abused.

Last year in Los Angeles County, there were 2,109 homicides. The average time served by those precious few convicted was between five and seven years. More than 90% of all the cases handled by the district attorney are plea-bargained.

The FBI reports that nationwide, every 10 seconds a burglary is committed; every 19 seconds a car is stolen; every 46 seconds, a robbery; every five minutes, a rape; every 21 minutes, a murder.

Does it offend common sense that we should demand justice on a case-by-case basis? If we did, anyone convicted of a violent crime would receive severe punishment; we wouldn’t have to wait for three strikes.

We should demand that district attorneys do their job and stop the massive plea-bargaining, especially on violent crime. As for sending pizza thieves to jail, no intelligent citizen is going to believe that such D.A. grandstanding will make our streets safer.

In Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables,”people were outraged by the cruel senselessness of a 19-year sentence for Jean Valjean after he stole a loaf of bread. Hugo’s classic story should serve as a constant reminder that our penal system serves best when it addresses crime and punishment in a resolute and firm manner--but never devoid of compassion, sensitivity and common sense.