Three-Strikes Law Goes Beyond Justice

Re “Making a Nonviolent Act a Third Strike Is Just Plain Crazy,” Nov. 10: Steve Lopez may be against the three-strikes law, but it will be a long time before it is repealed or even modified. The reason: craven politicians who fear losing reelection. No politician wants to be called “soft on crime,” and this includes even thinking about whether the law could be improved, say, by counting only violent crimes.

The same goes for the death penalty. When alleged sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, who was admittedly accused of some heinous crimes, was arrested in Maryland, where they do not execute minors, Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft facilitated his transfer to Virginia, where minors can be executed. This was received with widespread satisfaction. Virginia is a state that destroys DNA evidence after an execution lest it be used to show that the accused was innocent after all. When did we become so bloodthirsty?

John Sellars

Torrance