California Three Strikes Law Watch: William Bratton and Lee Baca Support Reform of Three Strikes Law
Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley
Los Angeles Times: Bratton, Baca Support Attempts to Reform Three Strikes Law
Los Angeles Police Department Chief William J. Bratton and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca have joined an effort to rein in California’s three strikes sentencing law.
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, who is pushing a ballot initiative to soften the tough law, said at a news conference Thursday that he had won the chiefs’ backing.
Well, Steve Cooley has the Chief’s backing before this attempt to change the Three Strikes Law becomes eligible for the California ballot.
Why is there a need for the change?
BECAUSE……..
Cooley and the San Francisco County District Attorney are NOT enforcing the current Three Strikes law……
Cooley said while Los Angeles and San Francisco counties only use three strikes against violent offenders, the policy should be uniform.
“It’s great if it happens most of the time,” Cooley said. “But when you write something down and make it a law, you make sure it happens all the time.”
Flap thinks D.A. Steve Cooley BETTER enforce the CURRENT law before seeking endorsements to CHANGE it!
Cooley has long criticized the breadth of the state’s law, which sometimes results in sentences of 25 years to life for those whose third strikes were nonviolent or minor crimes. His ballot initiative, coauthored with defense lawyer Brian Dunn, would limit third strikes in most cases to violent or serious offenses.
Cooley’s proposed initiative does not attempt to redefine first and second strikes and will likely make fewer inmates subject to re-sentencing. “This is a much narrower, focused effort,” Cooley said.
Cooley, there needs to be NO effort.
Either ENFORCE the law or RESIGN.
Steve Cooley’s initiative in circulation is: “The Repeat Criminal Offender/Three Strikes Fair Sentencing Act of 2006 (Version 2)”
H/T Southern California Law Blog
Technorati Tags: ThreeStrikesLaw, SteveCooley, WilliamBratton, LeeBaca, LosAngelesCountyDistrictAttorney
6 Comments
Barbara Brooks
Excuse me! But your link is NOT STEVE COOLEY’S INITIATIVE! I guess you think misleading the public is what you need to win. Deputy District Attorney Stephen Ipsen’s Initiative that you have given is a 42 page conglomeration of confusion. It is not written for the public to understand. It is creating life-time parole for some, more and more violations added in order to sweep up more people. It is TOUGHER, HARSHER, SUPER-EXPENSIVE COST TO THE TAXPAYERS. The public needs to avoid it like the plague, unless they want everyone and their brother under this proposed law.
Steve Cooley and Brian Dunn’s initiative is the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2006, SA2006RF0017 – Sec’y of State #1213. Go to Sec’y of State at http://www.ss.ca.gov This is a sensible initiative that will apply all strikes to serious and violent offenses, and will not release murderers, rapists and child molesters.
Flap
Barbara,
Sorry but your comment was sent to spam by the spam filter.
There is an updated post with all of the links.
http://flapsblog.com/?p=2228
Frank Courser
Why would anyone bash Steve Cooley for doing the right and fair thing?Our criminal justice should be just that.. just and fair. Never mind the cost to us taxpayers and the outragous burden on our prison system that operates today at over 200% capacity and strikers make up 26% of the inmate population.Besides it has more to do with the judge and prosecutor than the county.It depends on who that is. Flaps should read all the independent studies done on this law before you bash this initative. 25 to life is what we give for first degree murder,second degree murder is 15 to life.So why do we give the same sentence to drug users and shoplifters?
Flap
Because it is not just shop lifters and drug users.
Flap and the people of California say “three strikes” and you are out.
Sir, are you more worried about the costs to taxpayers and burdens on the prison system or keeping criminals off of the streets?
If they commit the crimes, Flap says lock them up – for a long time!
Read the subsequent post:
California Three Strikes Law Watch: Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten Criticizes Three Strikes Reform Act of 2006
Frank Courser
Flaps it is clear you don’t know who is serving life sentences under three strikes.Read 150 to 200 cases as I have and you get the picture. You may feel throwing 36,000 dollars away each year incarcerating drug addicts that are NOT treated in state prison is tax dollars well spent! I would rather see that money spent on education and drug programs that cost a fraction of the price and benefit the state taxpayer for more and do more to reduce crime.Warehousing non-violent offenders for life is just dumb on crime!
Flap
Frank,
Ok, cite me the cases where unjustifiably these three time convicted felons have been imprisoned for life under the three strikes law. How many? 150 or 200 cases?
Doubtful…….
Under the current law the district attorneys have the discretion.
Read the most current post:
California Three Strikes Law Watch: Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten Criticizes Three Strikes Reform Act of 2006
Flap would just rather these three time felons be removed from society. This is a wise expenditure of taxpayer money – keeping my family and I safe from these criminals.
Flap