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This past weekend marked the 16th Anniversary of California\u2019s Three Strikes Law, a draconian measure that sentences repeat felons for twenty five years to life. According to one mother of a prisoner serving time for a third strike, hundreds of inmates in Soledad prison held a three-day hunger strike in protest this week, consuming only water and juice starting on March 7th. The three strikes law, which went into effect on March 7th, 1994, has generated much protest over the years for its extreme sentencing guidelines. A third strike requires a minimum sentence of 25 years, even for non-violent offenses. This has led to thousands of people being given punishments that far exceed their crime. A man named Rene Landa had two strikes for residential burglary when he was arrested and sentenced to 27-years-to-life for stealing a spare tire. Nathan Thomas was given a third strike and a 25-to-life sentence for stealing a $33 pack of T-shirts. Proposition 66 on the November 2004 ballot to amend the three strikes law narrowly failed after a deceptive campaign backed by governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. A growing number of judges, lawyers, and civil rights groups are pushing for reform. <\/p>\n
GUESTS: Barbara Brooks is the mother of a prisoner serving time for a third strike and publisher of the Sentencing and Justice Reform Advocacy newsletter, Geri Silva, Executive Director of FACTS, Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes <\/em><\/p>\n