Marc Klaas said that California was going to repeal the three strikes law, which has successfully reduced crime in that state. I'm not sure if it went through or not as I heard him say this last year. I sure hope they were able to keep it.
lease:
Here is an interview with Mr. Klaas and KQED San Francisco (NewsFix)
Interview: Mark Klaas, Father of Murder Victim Polly Klaas, Speaks in Support of Death Penalty
Jon Brooks | January 13, 2012
"
Interviewer: Theres another ballot measure being circulated, to reform Three Strikes and Youre Out. What do you think about reforming Three Strikes, so that the third strike would have to be a violent crime?
MK: I think Three Strikes is a marvelous piece of legislation. A lot of people blame it for prison overcrowding, but the reality is there are around 10,000 individuals in the California prison system on a third strike out of a population of something like 150,000. The idea that the third strike needs to be violent defeats the purpose of what Three Strikes is about. Its about stopping the victimization, about these guys understanding they face the possibility of 25-to-life if they continue to commit crimes, yet they continue to commit crimes.
They might get caught for a petty crime, as some of them do, or they might get caught in the commission of a violent crime. But the penalty enhancement is supposed to motivate these guys to do the right thing. And if theyre not doing the right thing, then you want to get a hold of them and move them out before they rape somebody, before they murder somebody, before they commit assault and battery on somebody."
Much More @ Link:
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2012/01/13/interview-mark-klaas-father-of-murder-victim-polly-klaas-speaks-in-support-of-death-penalty/
Mr. Klaas also posted about it on the KlaasKids Foundation blog last year
Ruminations on Proposition 36
In 1993, my 12-year-old daughter Polly was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a recidivist violent offender. Over the course of three decades her killer, like many other repeat offenders, had been regurgitated through Californias criminal justice turnstile numerous times for a variety of non-serious, serious, and violent crimes. He had been on the streets for less than six months when he killed Polly.
The crime against Polly prompted more than 800,000 Californians to sign the then fledgling 3-strikes-and-youre-out ballot petition that would enhance prison sentences for repeat offenders, but it was not the crime that inspired 3-strikes.
(snip)
The Three Strikes law clearly established a sentencing structure for career criminals based upon their criminal history, not the last crime for which they were convicted. The law was clear and unambiguous:
With respect to a defendant convicted of any new felony who has two or more serious or violent prior felonies, the law mandates an indeterminate life sentence of no less than 25 years to life. Its stated intent was to ensure longer prison sentences and greater punishment for those who commit a felony and have been previously convicted of serious and/or violent felony offenses.
(snip)
I would challenge Proposition 36 proponents to cite one case of an inmate serving a life sentence for a history of petty crime.
That brings us to what I consider one of the biggest loopholes that Prop 36 is responsible for. The current iteration of 3-strikes removes prosecutorial discretion as it applies to so-called wobblers and non-serious/violent crimes. Requiring the third strike to be serious or violent to trigger a 25-life sentence shifts the emphasis of the law from an offenders criminal history to the last crime for which he was caught.
(snip)
Does anybody really expect thousands of third strikers released into the community to obey the law? Remember, each one of these characters has at least two serious or violent convictions. In each case the prosecutor, judge, and the court of appeals felt that society was well served by keeping them behind bars and I couldnt agree more.
Much more @ link
http://www.klaaskids.org/blog/?p=1062