Letter to the editor by Carrie Rosenbaum
Published March 9, 1999, in the Santa Barbara News Press
Seeking amendments to state's three-strikes law
The authors
of "Another view on three-strikes law" (News-Press, March 1) and "A travesty to
criminal justice system" (Feb. 25) may be interested to know that an
organization is forming in Santa Barbara as a part of a statewide movement to
amend the three-strikes.
Families to Amend California's Three-Strikes
(FACTS) supports SB 79, a California Senate bill written by Tom Hayden, D-Santa
Monica. This bill would amend the law to require that third strikes be violent
and serious felonies.
In "Another view ..." Reg Daudert uses a catch
phrase representative of our society's tough-on-crime attitude: "If you can't
do the time, don't do the crime."
FACTS' response is: Let the time FIT
the CRIME.
Need we be reminded that the campaign for this law uses
baseball terminology as a PR ploy, which dangerously changes the nature of
public policy debate. The three-strikes law has not been proven to decrease
crime, or be a deterrent. According to a recent newspaper article, "Five years
after it was hailed as a major deterrent to crime, California's three-strikes
sentencing law has had no measurable effect on reducing crime ..."
The
law has been dangerously misportrayed as a deterrent to crime. Not only does
three-strikes not act as a deterrent, but is an extreme punishment for
non-serious and non-violent crimes and is used more often in California than
other states. Furthermore, in a study by the Justice Policy Institute cited in
the News-Press on March 4, "Most states with similar repeat felon laws require
that third offense triggering a possible life sentence be a violent crime."
According to the California Department of Corrections, "there were 4,884
third-strike cases as of Dec. 31, 1998 - only 38.8 percent identified as
'crimes against persons.'" Nearly 75 percent of second strikes and 50 percent
of third strikes are for non-violent and non-serious offenses. Another
important factor, 71 percent of three-strike felons in state prisons are
African-American or Latino. This does not indicate that certain racial and
ethnic groups are genetically prone to crime, but rather demands that we ask
serious questions about our judicial system and the fairness of this law.
The notion of fairness seems like a distant notion of the past in a time
of exploitative and sensational television like the TV show "Cops," portraying
suspects as criminals before they even reach the courts for a fair trial. It
begins with all of us critically considering the effects of three-strikes
legislation.
There are over 40 organizations, ranging from the ACLU
to the Concerned Citizens of Leisure World in Orange County, who support the
amending of three-strikes. For those who want to get involved, call and write
your State senator and Assembly person and tell them you want them to support
SB 79.
For more information on the three-strikes law and how you can
get involved, call FACTS at: (805) 568-9922 and go to
http://www.facts1.com
Carrie
Rosenbaum
Chairperson Santa Barbara chapter
FACTS
Please send questions or comments to factsla@sbcglobal.net.
Everything on this web site can be distributed to the general public,
reprinted, or reposted without permission of Families to Amend California's
3-Strikes.
Date last modified: 3/11/99.