A New Proposition 66
Via reader Steve M., I have learned that there will likely be a new proposition next year to alter the Three Strikes Law. You can read it here.
I will do a comprehensive analysis of the measure in the near future, but here are the broad strokes:
Like Proposition 66, it would mandate that 25-to-life sentences may be imposed only when the third strike is serious or violent.
Like Proposition 66, it provides for doubling of the sentence in second-strike cases only when the second strike is serious or violent.
Like Proposition 66, it would redefine what is serious or violent to exclude certain crimes that are now strikes. Residential burglary is off the list unless it is pled and proved that a person was home during the burglary. Further, no “wobbler” (a crime that can be charged either as a misdemeanor or felony) can be a strike. This will be portrayed as an effort to keep petty theft with a prior from being a third strike. But the provision also covers crimes such as death threats, witness intimidation, and (my favorite) assault with a deadly weapon.
Like Proposition 66, it provides for re-sentencing of most criminals sentenced to 25-to-life under the older version of the law.
There are differences as well — and they are clever. The proponents have learned from the battle over Proposition 66. The resentencing provisions are explicitly limited to third strikers, meaning that opponents will not be able to claim that 42,000+ criminals may be resentenced and possibly released. The number will likely be less than 5000. Also, some of the more insidious provisions of Proposition 66 have been eliminated, such as the one that treats multiple strikes as a single strike, if they arise from the same case. The Charlie Manson and Richard Ramirez examples will not have the same force this time around.
By striking two simple words (“or judge”), the proposed proposition also allows plea-bargaining by judges in Three-Strikes cases — something explicitly prohibited by current law.
At this point, my main concerns are 1) the potential consequences of saying that wobblers can never be strikes, 2) the total lack of discretion for District Attorneys, and 3) the flood of violent criminals that will be released.
Point #1 is of particular concern. Some “wobblers” cover a huge range of activity. Penal Code section 245 is a good example. That provision covers not only assaults with a deadly weapon (which are strikes if prosecuted as felonies), but also “assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury,” which is not a strike.
The activity prohibited by Penal Code section 245 thus covers a wide range of behavior, from a particularly severe assault with fists and feet, all the way to a gang member shooting at rivals. The fact that some such conduct might be considered misdemeanor conduct is no reason to take all such conduct out of the realm of serious or violent felonies.
Indeed, due to an ambiguity in the proposed law as drafted, you could potentially have a defendant with two prior murder convictions charged with shooting at a group of people . . . and as long as he was not convicted of attempted murder, but rather only assault with a deadly weapon, he could receive at most 14 years in prison — depending on how the courts ultimately interpret the law.
The proposed proposition is still in its early stages. It was submitted to the Attorney General on November 15, and is thus still within the 15-day period during which the AG assigns it a title and summary. Collection of signatures will begin soon.
We’ll be hearing a lot more about this.
P.S. I should emphasize that this is a preliminary analysis, based upon reading through the proposal twice. It is possible that I have missed subtle points that could alter the conclusions I have stated.
“But the provision also covers crimes such as death threats, witness intimidation, and (my [Patterico’s] favorite) assault with a deadly weapon.”
Problems in the existing 3 Strikes law should be fixed, but if we’re looking at someone with two felony convictions already, 2 of the 3 crimes listed would certainly qualify for 25-to-life, or LWOP under special circumstances.
Death threats, could also qualify as a strike if other than the isolated, angry outburst type.
As it is, taxpayers spend way too much money on bad guys. 3 convictions, lock them up and throw away the key. Also, let them earn their way. The prison system should be more than self sufficient anyway.
These guys, from the first conviction on, should not only pay their own way, but also be making significant financial contributions to the individuals and institutions they violated.
Black Jack (ee9fe2) — 11/25/2005 @ 8:41 amI haven’t read the document yet but I’ll toss a few questions to you, Patterico, since you have.
Among Prop 66 proposed changes, it took gang felonies, arson and GBI (including GBI as part of a DUI – which is why Jerry Keenan financed Prop 66) off the “strike” list. Does this new “reform” strip those off the strikeable offense list also?
Darleen (f20213) — 11/25/2005 @ 11:13 amI’d feel a lot more comfortable if the jury decided if the crime should be a “strike.” In our system, juries are supposed to a major check against injustice, and such a jury determination might also mitigate against certain nullification tendencies.
Kevin Murphy (6a7945) — 11/25/2005 @ 11:37 amExcellent points. Mind if I link?
Nick @ HBR (ba4fb8) — 11/25/2005 @ 4:07 pmMembership in a gang should be a conspiracy count, an automatic felony with all members in on any member crime.
Walter E. Wallis (b2dd68) — 11/25/2005 @ 5:37 pmGangs are for cowards, and the sooner we make that point the better.
Program on the emergence of civilization.
“14 species of large animals capable of domesitcation in the history of mankind.
13 from Europe, Asia and northern Africa.
None from the sub-Saharan African continent. ”
Favor.
And disfavor.
They point out Africans’ failed attempts to domesticate the elephant and zebra, the latter being an animal they illustrate that had utmost importance for it’s applicability in transformation from a hunting/gathering to agrarian-based civilization.
The roots of racism are not of this earth.
Austrailia, aboriginals:::No domesticable animals.
The North American continent had none. Now 99% of that population is gone.
AIDS in Africa.
Organizational Heirarchy/Levels of positioning.
Heirarchical order, from top to bottom:
1. MUCK – perhaps have experienced multiple universal contractions (have seen multiple big bangs), creator of the artificial intelligence humans ignorantly refer to as “god”
2. Perhaps some mid-level alien management
3. Evil/disfavored aliens – runs day-to-day operations here and perhaps elsewhere
Terrestrial management/positioning:
4. Chinese/egyptians – this may be separated into the eastern and western worlds
5. Romans –
6. Mafia – the real-world 20th century interface that constantly turns over generationally so as to reinforce the widely-held notion of mortality
7. Jews, corporation, women, politician – Evidence exisits to suggest mafia management over all these groups.
Movies foreshadowing catastrophy
1985 James Bond View to a Kill 1989 San Francisco Loma Prieta earthquake.
Our society gives clues to the system in place. We all have heard the saying “He has more money than god.” There is also an episode of the Simpsons where god meets Homer and says “I’m too old and rich for this.”
This is the system on earth because this is the system everywhere.
I don’t want to suggest the upper eschelons are evil and good is the fringe.
But they have made it abundantly clear that doing business with evil (disfavored) won’t help people. They say only good would have the ear, since evil is struggling for survival, and therefore only the favored could help.
The clues are there which companies are favored and which are disfavored, but they conceal it very hard because it is so crucial.
I offer an example of historical proportions:::
People point to Walmart and cry “anti-union”.
Unions enable disfavored people to live satisfactorly without addressing their disfavor. This way their family’s problems are never resolved. Without the union they would have to accept the heirarchy, their own inferiority.
Unions serve to empower.
Walmart is anti-union because they are good. They try to help people address and resolve their problems by creating an enviornment where there are fewer hurdles.
Media ridicule and lawsuits are creations to reinforce people’s belief that Walmart is evil in a subsegment of the indistry dominated by the middle and lower classes.
Low-cost disfavored Chinese labor is utilized by corporate america to maximize margins. They all do it. Only WalMart gets fingered because they are the ones who help, and those who seek to create confusion in the marketplace want to eliminate the vast middle class who have a real chance and instead stick with lower classes who may not work otherwise. So they dirty him up while allowing the others to appear clean.
The middle class is being deceived. They are being misled into the unfavored, and subsequently will have no assistance from their purchases with corporate america.
I believe the coining of the term “Uncle Sam” was a clue alluding to just this::Sam Walton and WalMart is one of few saviors of the peasant class.
Amercia is a country of castoffs, rejects. Italy sent its criminals, malcontents.
Between the thrones, the klans and kindred, they “decided” who they didn’t want and acted, creating discontent and/or starvation.
The u.s. is full of disfavored rejects. It is the reason for the myriad of problems not found in European countries. As far as the Rockafellers and other industrialists of the 19th century go, I suspect these aren’t their real names. I suspect they were chosen to go and head this new empire.
Royalty is the right way to organize a society. Dictatorships and monarchies are a reflection of the antient’s hierarchical organization.
Positions go to those who have favor with the rulers, as opposed to being elected.
Elections bring a false sense of how the world is. Democracy misleads people.
Which is why the disfavored rejects were sent to the shores of America::To keep them on the wrong path.
Jews maim the body formed in the image of “god”, and inflicted circumsision upon all other white people, as well as the evil that is Jesus Christ.
I think about how Jews (were used to) created homosexuality among Slavics, retribution for the Holocaust.
Then I think of the Catholic Church and its troubles.
What connection is here between Jews and the Catholic church???
If it is their sinister motives that’s behind the evil that is Jesus Christ are they being used at all?
Perhaps it is them who are pulling strings.
Their centuries of slavery in Egypt proves their disfavor.
The Jew leaders decided to prey on the up-and-coming Europeans to try to fix their problems with the ruling elite, a recurring aspect of the elite’s methodology.
Jesus Christ is a religious figure of evil. The seperatist churches formed so they could still capture the rest of the white people, keeping them worshipping the wrong god.
And now they do it to people of color, Latinos and Asians, after centuries of preying upon them.
Since Buddism doesn’t recongnize a god, the calls are never heard, and Chinese representation is instead selected by the thrones.
Budda was the Asian’s Jesus Christ::: bad for the people. “They came up at the same time for a reason.”
Simpson’s foreshadowing::Helloween IV special, Flanders is Satan. “Last one you ever suspect.”
“You’ll see lots of nuns where you’re going:::hell!!!” St. Wigham, Helloween VI, missionary work, destroying cultures.
Over and over, the Simpsons was a source of education and enlightenment, a target of ridicule by the system which wishes to conceal its secrets.
I believe Islam is the one true religion, and those misled christians who attack “god”‘s most favored people will pay dearly one day.
grandpa stole bets (eb1d7f) — 11/25/2005 @ 9:04 pmHey, it’s our favorite “Jared Diamond uncontroversial degenerates into anti-Semitism” spam poster!
Angry Clam (a7c6b1) — 11/26/2005 @ 7:03 amI strongly support the idea of a three strikes law, but since I live on the east coast the only propaganda I’ve seen on your’s was the 60 Minutes/pizza stealer piece. Obviously the bleeding hearts are going to be scouring the system looking for such an excuse to gut the whole law, so I would recommend the supporters beat them to the punch. Surely Gov. Arnold could issue a few conditional pardons to remove the opponents’ talking points. If convicts know that there is a potential for such a pardon (very sparingly applied) it could be a motivation for better behavior in the lockups also.
topcat (de3119) — 11/26/2005 @ 7:04 amtopcat
Go to my #2 entry and click on the link “jerry kenan”. It is my post on Prop 66 from 10/20/04. The “life sentence for stealing a slice of pizza case” is pretty much urban myth. And the 60 minutes piece you’re talking about dealing with 3 strikes I believe was actually this 60 minutes II piece. This one was partly filmed at my courthouse (since the Andrade case was tried there) – Dan Rather taking over half our floor for half the day because he wasn’t satisfied with how his segment looked (retake after retake). As one of our attorneys remarked “Damn, Rather is a prima donna!”
Darleen (f20213) — 11/26/2005 @ 7:23 amAngry Clam
From the looks of it, that “grandpa” post was also tried at Wizbang (promptly deleted). Gramps is still sneaking into the Schnapps.
Darleen (f20213) — 11/26/2005 @ 7:26 amWe’ve had it here before, too.
Angry Clam (a7c6b1) — 11/26/2005 @ 7:46 amSaturday morning reading
I spent yesterday putting away the fall decorations and Christmasing the house. There was no way I was getting anywhere near a mall. The outside lights are now up, the inside pretty well done (we always get a fresh tree,…
Darleen's Place (1650a7) — 11/26/2005 @ 8:42 amDarleen,
Thanks for the link about Jerry Keenan. It explains quite a lot. I’m late to the party, but want to get up to speed quickly.
Is Keenan behind this new effort too?
Black Jack (ee9fe2) — 11/26/2005 @ 9:47 amThis is going to be great. Months and months of the tearful relatives of people who committed crimes, trying to convince the relatives of those who were the victims of crimes, to let the convicted out. I actually liked the pizza-for-life story because it was classic urban myth though not as good as the poodle in the microwave.
Pat Patterson (5b3946) — 11/26/2005 @ 1:18 pmIf Arnold can campaign against this it’s a way to position Democrats as wanting to let criminals out of jail to kill, rob, or rape ordinary people, and helps against Warren Beatty or Rob Reiner, whoever gets the nomination.
But all that IMHO depends on the Tookie/Monster Williams case. I hope Arnold looks at the evidence, sees that Williams still runs the Crips and reportedly gives orders for Crips murders, and passes on clemency.
To me the 3 Strikes Law was all about a Criminal Justice system that was unable to crack down on violent, repeat criminals. Hence the public fixed it (and that millionaire tried to get his neer do well son out of prison with Prop 66 to overturn 3 Strikes).
Don’t prosecutors already have discretion to charge “wobblers” as either felonies or misdemeanors? Isn’t that part of prosecutorial discretion? Don’t prosecutors stand for re-election and have to explain their decisions to voters? I don’t see the need for this “reform” since the fix already lies in prosecutor’s actions.
It’s my understanding the Bay Area prosecutors have pursued ZERO 3 strike convictions, which also might explain their violent crime wave particularly among gangs (who have a massive political set of apologists, see Najee Ali).
Jim Rockford (e09923) — 11/26/2005 @ 10:05 pmNajee Ali (not his true name DUH!) – the one in the same who just got off lightly (probation and 270 days county jail) on a hit and run and another (I believe perjury)case despite being a “second striker.” !!!!!!
– Hit and run where after crashing into another vehicle he ran away and, ala Oswald, ran into a movie theater to escape.
That Najee Ali??? How’s that for a role model?
MOG (4220bd) — 11/28/2005 @ 12:54 pmNow that I see twisted how you conservatives think, I see the issue a bit clearer. Are there problems paying BILLIONS of dollars to keep petty thieves in prison? Nah, of course not, not to you. The feds have seized California’s medical system for gross incompetence, the first time this has EVER happened in a state so large. Problem? Nah, not for you. 50 to life for a petty thief like Andrade, over $153 worth of videos. Problem? Nah, not for you. The pizza-thief case was just some collective delusion, right? Well, Mr. Pizza thief did get his sentence reduced to 6 years. But how about Gregory Taylor, who got a 25-life sentence for stealing food from a church? How about all the other 3rd strikers who are there on less than serious/violent felonies? Did I imagine those guys as well?
Great site – I love to listen to conservatives plan to spend my tax dollars on multi-billion dollar prison boondoggles like 3-Strikes. Not enough money for decent education, good roads, clean drinking water, ample power – you know, infrastructure. But plenty of cash for prisons. You guys sure know alot more than us dumb liberals.
History will judge, and I assure you that you’re all on the wrong side on this one. Three Strikes, a continued and expanded Drug War, the Iraq War – boy , you guys sure know how to run a country. What will you do for your encore? The new 3-Strikes modification is going to pass. And if it doesn’t, the next one will. Or the next one. And while we fiddle over just how big and full each prison should be, California burns. See ya at the polls.
Dennis Wilkins (789115) — 12/14/2005 @ 5:42 pmAttorneys cultivate a distance from ‘the rest of us’, and district attorneys are totally divorced from ‘the rest of us,’ see people as potential scores… and this attitude is encouraged as a criteria for advancement. Whatever is needed for conviction, do it…any facts that counter this goal…suppress. Juries say, ‘3 strikes, as long as it ain’t me…do it.’
Walt Landers (56a0a8) — 9/30/2007 @ 6:34 amRight. Because the average man on the street has at least one or two serious or violent felonies. Who doesn’t have a close association with someone or they themselves have a robbery, murder, kidnapping, rape etc, on their jacket?
dave (987d37) — 9/30/2007 @ 6:53 am