A Glimmer of Hope for Inmates

by Jeff Brooks

I, along with approximately 50 of my fellow inmates were delighted to hear Elsa Y. Chen, PhD, from Santa Clara University chronicle the
passage, implementation, and effects of California’s draconian Three Strikes Law. Dr. Chen’s thorough account of the law gave many inmates a glimmer of hope, hope that through her research,
the Three Strikes Law can be revealed to the citizens of California for its cruelty, unjustness, and costs.

Dr. Chen displayed statistical information showing California’s overuse of the Three Strikes Law in comparison to 24 other states, as well as the federal government. According to Chen, as of 2005 more than 87,500 individuals had been sentenced under the second- and third-strike provisions of the law; Washington State, with the next most, had only sentenced approximately 350 individuals. She said that currently, 55% of more than 7,500 offenders who received a sentence of 25 years to life in prison for a third strike are incarcerated for nonviolent felonies. Chen said the Legislative Analyst Office, a
nonpartisan governmental agency, estimates that the state’s Three Strike policy currently costs approximately $500 million per year to implement, and, she said, the costs were expected to escalate. With the high human costs to individuals and communities, along with the budget cuts in health, education, welfare, and other social
services facing California, according to Chen, the law needs to be changed.

Inmates have known for years the injustice of the law; now, with Dr. Chen’s research, we are optimistic that once the public becomes aware of the facts they will amend California’s Three Strikes Law to apply to only violent felonies. Thank you, Dr. Chen.