Second- and Third- Strike Inmates

During the debate over the �Three Strikes� law, opponents argued that not only would the prison and jail populations increase substantially, but that the prison system would become bloated with non-violent offenders serving life-terms. Seeking to prove this claim true, a study conducted by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in 1996 concluded that 85% of persons sentenced under the �Three Strikes� law received their third strike for a non-violent offense. The study reported 192 individuals were convicted for marijuana possession while only 40 were convicted of murder, 25 of rape, and 24 of kidnaping.³² Allen St. Pierre, Deputy Director of NORML (Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, Inc.) commented, �People are going to jail in America for possessing marijuana. As this report clearly illustrates, the sentences can potentially be for life. This sort of illogical and fiscally irresponsible mandatory sentencing must end.�³³

While it is true that persons are being sentenced under the �Three Strikes� law for such non-violent crimes as drug possession and theft, these same criminals have previously been convicted of a �violent� and/or �serious� felony not once, but twice. The purpose of �Three Strikes� is to put violent repeat felons behind bars as soon as they break the law rather than waiting for them to violently attack another innocent victim.

At the end of 1997, California�s inmate population totaled 152,577. Nearly a quarter (23.2%) of the inmates, (35,411), were incarcerated for second- and third- strike convictions.

³²Three Strikes: The New Apartheid; Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice; March 1996.

³³�Twice As Many Defendants Imprisoned For Marijuana Possession Under Tough �Three Strikes� Law Than For Violent Crime;� NORML News Service Story; March 18, 1996.

Next Page

or go to... 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26