Clarify Three Strikes

Re “3rd Strike Is the Tip of an Iceberg of Crime,” letters, Nov. 10: Jeff McCombs suggests that the California voters who passed the three-strikes law intended life imprisonment for a three-time pizza thief. The voters are not that foolish or bloodthirsty. Under the three-strikes law, the first two strikes must be either violent or serious crimes. Serious crimes are those that are potentially violent through the availability of a deadly weapon.

The three-strikes law is intended to remove from society repeat, violent or serious offenders who continue to commit crimes. There are good arguments on both sides of the three-strikes debate, but news stories and opinion pieces on the topic often fail to make clear exactly what the law says, leading to misunderstandings.

Jon L. Breen

Fountain Valley