BILL JONES
Secretary of State
State of California

Three Strikes and You�re Out

Five Years Later

On June 29, 1992, 18-year old Kimber Reynolds was murdered by a repeat felon outside a popular restaurant in Fresno, California. In response to the tragedy, her father, Mike Reynolds, convened a panel of law enforcement officials and legal experts to find a way to close the revolving door of California�s prisons in an effort to save lives.

The result was California�s Three Strikes and You�re Out law, which was introduced in the State Legislature as Assembly Bill 971 by then-Assemblyman Bill Jones and then-Assemblyman Jim Costa.

On March 7, 1994, Three Strikes was signed into law by Governor Pete Wilson. An identical measure was also placed on the November, 1994 ballot by the voters in the form of an initiative that eventually received the support of 72 percent of the state�s voters.

The theory was simple, if we could incarcerate the small percentage of criminals who commit the vast majority of crimes in our state, we could effectively lower the crime rate and save thousands of lives. Five years later, we have witnessed a reduction in crime that is greater than even the most optimistic Three Strikes supporters predicted.

After five years, we now have strong statistical data to show the law is working exactly as intended. California�s murder and robbery rates are down by 50%, the overall crime rate in California has declined 38% and the early predictions of rapid prison overpopulation have proven to be unfounded. Most importantly, more than one million Californians who would have been victimized by crime if the 1993 crime rate continued, are still safe today.

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