Lies, TV Ads, Talk Radio Send Trivial Offenders Away for Life in Calif.
California's 3 strikes law, the harshest, most punitive statute anywhere in what's known as the civilized world, became part of the criminal code after voters approved it as an initiative in 1994. As the proposed law was being written, voters were told it would apply to violent offenses only, but the actual initiative churned out life sentences for the theft of pizza, toiletries, etc. Addicts were sent away for life for possessing one dime ($10) bag of heroin. I wish I were making this up. A huge percentage of people who approved the initiative in '94 were unaware of the bait and switch. The truth was buried in a deluge of TV ads and talk radio blather. But the people sentenced unfairly still sit in prison, and more are added all the time.
Every time we try to amend the 3 strikes atrocity the state's prison guards union and its allies bombard the air waves with ads that misinform viewers, claiming that any change in the law will put thousands of dangerous criminals on the streets. Our "liberal" Governor Jerry Brown is among the guards' key supporters. He's also the single biggest recipient of their campaign donations. So the truth gets buried, and the guards score another victory, getting the overtime they wanted. There's no big institution that has a financial stake in securing justice for the people wasting away in prison courtesy of our nutty criminal code and prosecutors who love to score points. The guards' treasury wins every time.
Even if you think you understand what this horrific law does, you probably don't know how extensive are the cruelties buried inside it. Watch this 5-minute New York Times video (link below) to see the results in human terms. It's dumbfounding. Californians, please vote yes on Proposition 36 next month to begin amending this medieval law that's already sent thousands of people to prison for life for nonviolent, trivial offenses. And if you live outside California, make sure crazies don't get away with passing this kind of evil legislation in your state.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/opinion/three-strikes-of-injustice.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
Keywords:
Isaac is . . . an overcoming-the-odds love story where the odds are seriously, seemingly insurmountably, stacked against the lovers. . . . We know something Ruth doesn’t know, and it’s painful being unable to comfort her. Any story with characters so real that we wish we could reach into the book and give them a hug demands to be read.
”
—BookList Starred Review
About Ivan
New York Times-best-selling author Ivan Goldman's fourth novel Isaac: A Modern Fable was published by The Permanent Press in April 2012 and received a starred review in BookList. His novel The Barfighter was nominated as a 2009 Notable...
Causes Ivan Goldman Supports
American Heart Association
National Alliance on Mental Illness
Beit T'Shuvah Recovery Program
Incredibly sad and I can't
Incredibly sad and I can't help but think that it must cost a fortune to employ this law. m
I have to add that we (my
I have to add that we (my family) discussed your post at dinner tonight. I must also say that I am totally amazed that not one other person in this community of writers has commented on this revealing and incredibly tragic post. m
Responses
Hi Mary,
I think when something is going on all around us it seems part of the natrual order of things. Also, the families like the one depicted in the video have absolutely no clout so politicians don't care about them. And they rarely get media attention because they don't know how to contact mass media. But when your country is doing these things to its citizens you can't claim to live in a free country. Certainly not the greatest country on earth, as we're repeatedly informed by people who have never been outside the U.S.
There are thousands upon thousands of cases of convicts whose sentences are wildly excessive, and they aren't all in California. You don't need a 3 strikes law to screw defendants. Everyone knows about O.J. and Robert Blake getting off but not the other side of the story.
thanks, will pass on your
thanks, will pass on your words to my curious family. m