3-Strikes Law Does Violence to Justice

Re “3-Strikes Sentence Is Ruled Cruel,” Nov. 3: My praise to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for having the intelligence and sense of justice to rule that a theft of videos did not warrant a third-strike sentence of 50 years, determining that it was cruel and unusual punishment and did not fit the crime. (He had no prior violent crimes.) As we all know, the three-strikes law was voted into law to keep violent repeat offenders in prison for many years, not drug addicts and petty thieves.

The Assembly should be ashamed for worrying only about votes and not taking a stand against a law enforced so unfairly. It’s not being soft on crime; it’s being humane, fair and making the sentence fit the crime. I pray there is some hope for the many young nonviolent offenders serving 25 years in hard-core prisons (most of whom were probably drug addicts in need of rehabilitation). I believe the enforcement of this law in California is more criminal than the acts committed by many of the criminals.

Patricia Nesbitt

Westlake Village

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What I remember about the three-strikes law, when then-Assemblyman Bill Jones introduced it in 1993, was that it would keep the violent repeat felons locked up. I voted for it.

In 1994 my son was arrested for a small drug possession and sentenced to 25 years to life as a nonviolent offender. I was shocked that it was applied to nonviolent offenses with such punitive punishment. The politicians have received millions of contributions from the prison guards union. Why would I believe Jones again? I say let the time fit the crime.

Vivian Moen

Fountain Valley

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What an unfortunate coincidence that the three-strikes law may be tamed at a time when unemployment is skyrocketing. If the law is struck down its proponents will point to the rise in crime that may follow, when that rise can just as easily be attributed to high unemployment. Too bad a case wasn’t made when the economy was good so that we could distinguish between the effects on crime of the three-strikes law versus the economy.

Cathy LaScng o Santa Monica