Changes in Three-Strikes Law Brings Hearings to San Diego Courts

In a previous post, I discussed the history of three-strikes laws in California and the criticism of its effects on sentencing, but I didn't go into significant detail about how the law has slowly changed over the past 20 years. In 2000, Proposition 36 gave an avenue for drug offenders to seek treatment rather than face harsh sentencing under the three-strikes laws. More recently, 2012's Proposition 36 directly amended the three-strikes law to allow life sentences only when the third conviction is for a violent or serious crime. Here is a list of the exact changes that went into effect when Prop 36 passed just a few months ago.

• Life sentence on third-strike only if offense is serious or violent. This should mean that we won't see any more life sentences imposed on defendants for stealing a pack of gum or possessing a small amount of drugs.
• Re-sentencing authorized for convicts of non-serious and non-violent offenses who are judged not to be a danger to community. This will mean that many convicts currently serving a life sentence will be able to get their sentences reduced if they meet the right criteria.
• Life sentencing remains for certain non-violent sex or offenses and crimes involving firearms possession. This was included to alleviate critics concerns that too many dangerous undesirables would be let out onto the street.
• Convicts who had previous convictions for rape, murder or child molestation will not be eligible for re-sentencing no matter what their third offense was.

As a result of these changes, many hearings are starting to take place in courts throughout California for inmates looking to rid themselves of life sentences that came from non-violent and non-serious third-strike offenses. The first hearing in San Diego will be held in front of Judge David Danielson of the San Diego Superior Court. The Union Tribune released a story on Saturday detailing some of the upcoming cases. Here is a summary of some of them.

"William Carter, 57, is set for a hearing on Thursday. He has been in prison since 1994 after being convicted of evading a police officer and causing a collision. Carter had a history of drunken driving convictions and assault, according to his court file.

In March, Danielsen will consider the case of Annette Carter, 56, who has been in prison for 17 years. She was convicted of selling a $5 bag of marijuana to an undercover police officer in 1995. She had three robbery convictions, all from a single case in 1981, according to court records. 

 Along with Carter, Danielsen will hear the case of Joel Murillo, sentenced in 1994 for possessing 2 grams of methamphetamine. He had prior convictions from 1983 for robbery and 1984 for voluntary manslaughter."

Three-Strikes Law in San Diego

The late 1980s and early 1990s brought a dramatic increase in crimes of all types in California, including San Diego and the surrounding communities. Not only did crime in general increase, but the Los Angeles riots of 1992 ignited a desire in the population to impose harsher and more permanent sentences to habitual criminals. As lovers of baseball, Americans naturally gravitated toward a punitive measure based on striking out. If you commit three or more felonies, you'll be locked away for good. Three-strikes laws started showing up in states all across the U.S.. The most notorious, however, was in California.

In California, the proposition system allows the enactment of laws through direct democracy. Proposition 184, known as the Three Strikes Initiative, was on the ballot during the mid-term elections of 1994. It was meant to significantly strengthen the three-strikes law that had already passed in the California legislature earlier in the year. On November 8th, 72 percent of voters approved of the proposition. The success of the measure is often attributed to a few high-class cases involving repeat offenders that occurred in the preceding years, including the murders of Poly Class and Kimber Reynolds.

Even though California is not the only, nor the first, state with a three-strikes law, it does have the toughest. Habitual criminals can be locked away for 25 years to life for non-serious and non-violent offenses on their third strike; most other states demand a serious or violent crime for third-strike life sentences. In 1996, district attorneys from counties all across the state imposed life sentences in more than 1,700 cases as a result of the three-strikes legislation. These numbers dropped significantly in the following 15 years. There are currently about 200 three-strike life sentence cases per year in California.

Three-strikes laws have come under a lot of criticism in judicial and academic circles. Relatively minor offenses can often result in life sentences for repeat criminals in many cases. For example, Leandro Andrade is serving a 50-to-life-sentence for shoplifting after prosecutors elevated the offense to a felony according to three-strikes provisions. Andrade appealed his case all the way to the supreme court based on the argument that his sentence violated cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th amendment. The SCOTUS majority, however, did not find that his sentence was cruel and unusual under the framework of California law.