THE COUNSELOR’S
CORNER
As some of you probably noticed in March,
the three strikes law is alive and well.
The futures of
thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people were determined by another
of those horrendous five to four votes by the United States Supreme Court. There were two cases before the Court, and
the end result is that one man will serve 50 years to life in prison for
stealing videotapes worth all of
$153.00, and the other individual will serve a sentence of 25 years to
life in prison for shoplifting a set of golf clubs.
Let me state out
front that I would not have anything against the three strikes law if the third
strike had to be a violent felony.
Unfortunately, the third strike can be any kind of felony at all, and
that is what leads to someone stealing a small amount of videotapes and
thereafter looking at spending the rest of his life in jail. The four dissenters, led by Justice Souter, indicated that there is in
California " clearly established precedent that a sentence that is grossly
disproportionate to the crime is cruel and unusual punishment." Doing the math in this case indicates that a
27 year old defendant who receives 50 years to life will be ELIGIBLE for parole
at the age of 87. That's if he lives
that long.
What really gets
me here is the fact that one vote makes all the difference in the world. If just one justice had voted with the
minority, they would have become the majority, and the 27 year old, a Mr.
Andratti would now be looking at a punishment that fits the crime, and the
prospect of freedom at a much earlier age.
He is no saint, nor is Mr. Ewing, the individual who shoplifted the
golf clubs, whose life has also been altered irrevocably by the Court's five to
four decision. Of course, the argument
can be made that if you commit the amount of crimes that puts you into this
position, you have no one to blame but yourself. I understand that, however, I think that to borrow from Gilbert
and Sullivan 's “Mikado," the punishment should fit the crime.
It now appears as
if Gary Ewing will die in prison on the strength of shoplifting three golf
clubs. Mr. Ewing is blind in one eye,
and suffers from AIDS.
There is a bill
pending in the state legislature which would require what would be the third
strike in every criminal case to be a " violent felony.” Unfortunately,
this bill is not expected to pass. Even
if it did pass, Governor Davis has indicated he would veto such a bill, so
there really is no reason to even make the attempt until we have a new
governor.
With the law the
way it is right now, the good news for
those in LA County is the present policy of District Attorney Steve
Cooley. Mr. Cooley has advised his
deputy district attorneys that if a potential third strike case is a violent
crime, it should be filed as a third strike.
If it is a non-violent crime, it should be treated as a second
strike. THIS IS REASONABLE. The only problem here is that people in LA
County get the break while people in other counties in this state don't, and it
really distresses me when where one lives can determine the type of punishment
an individual will receive.
Those in favor of
the three strikes law correctly argue that people who are convicted of their
third strike generally have a lengthy criminal history, and probably deserve
their fate. I agree with the first
part, but not with the second. It is
one thing to have a long criminal history; however, the type of crime one
engages in needs to be considered. It
is one thing to try to make one's way out of a store without paying for
videotapes on a regular basis; it is something quite different to grab your gun
and rob banks.
I think that the
most egregious showing of a lack of understanding of this decision was made by
Secretary of State Bill Jones, who praised the decision, stating that it "
ensures that repeat murderers, robbers, rapists and child molesters will be off
our streets as soon as they commit an additional felony. " This is just stupid. There are not exactly a great deal of "
repeat murderers " out there, for if one is convicted of murder, one often
serves life in prison, and if it is first-degree murder, one may be executed. No one wants the type of people described by
Mr. Jones on our streets; however, let us punish them when they do murder, rob,
rape and molest rather than when they steal three golf clubs or $153.00 worth
of videos. I look forward to the day
when our system is more equitable than it is now.