3-Strike Stories: William Anderson
Family History:
My name is William Anderson. I'm 45 years of age and I have been married to my lovely
wife Brenda Anderson for 7 years. My wife and I became entrepreneurs in the beauty supply
industry in the year of 1992. In 1993, business was prosperous so she and I planned to
have a baby and purchase a home in Moreno Valley, CA and make that our homestead.
On December 7, 1993 we purchased our new home in Hidden Springs, Moreno Valley, CA. On
October 16, 1993 the daughter that we planned to have was born; however, unfortunately she
was born afflicted with Trisomy 21 which is a severe form of Down Syndrome. In conjunction
with the Down Syndrome, she contracted a congenial heart and artery defect, which caused
her to be monitored 24 hours a day. To be certain that she did not die in a very short
time from the condition of her body and breathing, she was scheduled to have three
separate surgeries on her defective heart. The surgery and medical care was extremely
expensive and I had no insurance coverage and insufficient funds to cover the medical
procedures.
My daughter's condition extremely affected my wife and me mentally and physically.
Neither one of us were experienced nor educated in dealing with Down Syndrome but this was
our only daughter and we loved her no matter what, so we stuck together and dealt with
this tragic situation as best we could.
However, one of us had to give up working so we decided that she would stay at home
with the baby while I managed to run the business. I was compelled to hire two employees
to work at the stores and everything was working out just fine until we experienced a
recession in the beauty supply industry.
As a result of this recession I had to close one of the stores and let both employees
go. I tried to operate one store by myself; however, due to my daughter's condition among
other things, lack of sleep, working extensive hours, and lack of eating, caused me a
mental transition that was unbearable.
The Strikes:
1. and 2. Robbery (later finger-print evidence indicated that another person committed
the offense).
3. Attempted forgery and possession of a forged driver's license (sentenced to 51 years to
life).
The Story:
In 1972, which was 27 years ago, I was arrested for 211 of the Penal code--Robbery--in
case No. A-181452 in L.A. County under the name of Charles Williams. I tried to explain to
the sheriffs and the court that my name was not Charles Williams and that I was being
wrongly accused of a crime that I did not commit. In August of 1972 I was told by a public
defender that if I plead guilty to the robbery charge he would get me one year in county
jail and 4 years probation; however, if I didn't plead guilty they would surely find me
guilty and I would received 15 years to life. At the time I was a scared young kid feared
into pleading guilty to a crime that I never committed; although I never gave up. On
3/28/75 (3 years later), a fingerprint comparison was eventually ordered and conducted by
the sheriff's department and the results revealed that I was not the person responsible
for this case and the judge ordered my immediate release; however due to departmental
error they never deleted this crime from their data base.
In 1994, Because of the stress from our daughter's surgeries and the business problems
(see above), I foolishly began the use of crack cocaine, and the dealer whom provided for
me, supplied me with a counterfeit driver's license and a filled-in check to go to the
business of the victim and use this check to purchase a certain laptop computer. In
conjunction with the extreme stress and under the influence of drugs, I accepted and acted
under this program of the dealer. But, then, when I was in the place of business I changed
my mind, realizing what I was doing and determined not to proceed with this action and
attempted to leave--at this point I was physically detained.
For this crime of attempted forgery and possession of a forged driver's license I
received 51 years to life which is like two life sentences for a non-violent or serious
crime. The crimes I attempted to commit only carry one year in county jail or 16 months, 2
or 3 years in state prison.
In spite of the fact that the 1972 conviction was invalidated, and Judge McKee knew
it, he still used the 1972 conviction to strike me out. I have a classical case of
injustice, unfairness and cruelty.
On the evening of October 8, 1996--one week before my daughter's 2nd birthday and two
month's after my sentencing, our daughter died while they performed surgery on her
defective heart. My wife and I are deeply affected by her death. Currently we are both
undergoing psychiatric treatment. We both have been prescribed medication to help us
better cope with the tragic death of our daughter.
The recent death of our daughter coupled with my 51 years to life sentence in
conjunction with the 3-Strikes law has caused my family a great deal of pain, depression
and poverty. We recently lost our home, and our other two sons were declared a ward of the
court due to my wife's mental condition.
My 51 years to life is a death sentence for a non-violent crime, a crime that should
have been a misdemeanor.
The judge that presided in my trial and sentenced me was the subject of a probe by the
special investigation division based upon improprieties regarding homeowner's insurance
fraud. This judge was apparently disloyal, and abused his color of authority and was
involved in corrupted activities; however, during the investigation of Judge McKee's
involvement with these allegations, the Lomita sheriff's found Judge McKee dead in Palos
Verdes Peninsula. The sheriff's homicide detectives investigation revealed his death as
being suicide.
Other Comments:
I'm not against the 3-Strikes law, but I do oppose the way the law is being applied to
non-violent and minor offenses (for example, forgeries, simple possession of drugs). The
public must be afforded the opportunity to re-evaluate the cost and effects of the
3-Strikes law in conjunction with their tax dollars being utilized to lock an individual
up for a current minor crime.
I believe that the law is being strategically used to substantiate, support and
influence the needed capital to construct more prisons.
The 3-Strikes law should only apply to people who currently commit a violent or
serious felony. The way the law is designed today, a person that commits a murder will
receive less time than a person who commits a forgery or possessed a small quantity of
drugs.
I received 51 years to life for forgery and possession of a forged document;
personally I know of several inmates who committed heinous murders and received less time
than me. This law is immoral, unconstitutional, cruel and unusual punishment and should be
amended to apply to current violent or serious felonies only. The implementation of the
3-Strikes law has exceeded the terms of rehabilitation, and needs to be modified to
promote justice.
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Date last modified: 7/5/97.