Legacy of California’s ‘three strikes’ law

The symbol of sentencing excess in California could be an extra-large slice of pepperoni pizza, taken from four youngsters on the Redondo Beach Pier. The petty theft resulted in a sentence of 25 years to life in prison for Jerry Dewayne Williams because he had a record that included two serious or violent felonies — and because several months earlier, California lawmakers had passed the “three strikes” law, meant to forever remove so-called career criminals from society. That legislation was signed into law 30 years ago, on March 7, 1994.

By that time, the crime surge of the 1980s had already crested, and crime had begun its historic plunge. Still, voters in the state of Washington adopted a “three strikes” law, and two particularly horrific California murders — those of 18-yearold Kimber Reynolds and 12-yearold Polly Klaas — inspired a similar initiative proposal here. Before the measure reached voters, California lawmakers rushed their own version to the governor, who signed it into law. Voters then approved the initiative, adopting the law a second time.

A host of tough-on-crime measures followed from both Republicans and Democrats, even as crime continued its free fall. Police spending skyrocketed. The 1994 federal crime bill, shepherded through the U.S. Senate by then-Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware and signed into law by President Clinton, included a “three strikes” provision. More than 20 other states also adopted versions of “three strikes.”

But none were as rigid as California’s, which doubled the sentence for a second strike, and considered any felony, even if not serious or violent, a third strike. The Times has opposed “three strikes” from the beginning, warning that it would fill prisons and devastate the state budget.

Costs included larger payrolls for prison guards, whose union lobbied both for raises and for longer sentences. The toll also rose for families and communities which suffered the most from the loss of parents to prison, not for murder or rape but for mid-level crimes that may well have required some incarceration, but not decades’ worth.