California's Proposition 184: Three Strikes and You'Re Out

California's Proposition 184: Three Strikes and You're Out


Last year in California voters approved a controversial ballot
initiative. Proposition 184, also known as the three strikes and you're out
law, was passed on November 9, 1994.   Under this new legislation repeat
offenders, upon committing their third felony offense, will be sentenced to a
mandatory twenty-five years to life in prison(California 667).   The initiative
passed by a landslide, with 76% of the voters in favor of it.   The State Senate
soon after voted the bill into law, with only seven members voting against it.
The three strikes initiative stemmed from the killing of Polly Klass by Richard
Allen Davis, a convicted felon.   The killing outraged the entire state but what
enraged people even more was that Davis had been in and out of prison his whole
life and was still free to kill again.   Soon people began calling for laws that
would put repeat violent offenders behind bars for life.   The premise of the
new laws became an easy issue for politicians to back.   To oppose such
legislation seemed to be political suicide, so most politicians backed the
initiative. Although many civil liberties groups opposed such mandatory
sentencing measures there was little they could in the face of tremendous voter
approval.   Many voters did not realize that this bill could put potentially
incarcerate people for ludicrous amounts after the commission of a minor
offense.   Even more voters did not realize the cost of implementing such a bill.
Now that this new legislation has been in effect for a year and   the
tremendous negative effects it have become obvious we must repeal it.
One of the issues that must be considered when imposing mandatory
sentencing is the increased cost of incarceration.   In the state of California
it costs $20,000 per year to incarcerate an inmate under normal
circumstances(Cost 1).   This amount of money could put one person through a
state college for two or three years.   According to Beth... [continues]

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