Law enforcement officials in San Benito County overwhelmingly
oppose Proposition 66
– the Three Strikes initiative on the November ballot they say
would make it harder for them to do their job and potentially
release thousands of convicted felons from prison.
Hollister – Law enforcement officials in San Benito County overwhelmingly oppose Proposition 66 – the Three Strikes initiative on the November ballot they say would make it harder for them to do their job and potentially release thousands of convicted felons from prison.
“What (the proponents) are not telling you is that these people’s whole lives are centered around crime,” said Sheriff Curtis Hill. “They go away and they don’t come back because they worked for it. It’s nice not having them come back and wreaking their special kind of magic on this county.”
But proponents of 66, an initiative that would change the state’s Three Strikes law, claim it will provide more appropriate penalties for lesser offenders, and that it will allow re-sentencing for approximately 4,200 people serving life sentences if the third strike resulted from a non-serious, non-violent offense.
The initiative would also eliminate several serious crimes from the strike list, including arson, residential burglary, attempted burglary and felony gang crimes.
Opponents of the proposition claim that up to 26,000 people could be released from prison because the law would be retroactive – affecting anyone convicted of Three Strikes since the law went into effect in 1995.
Since District Attorney John Sarsfield took office in 2002, his office has prosecuted only a “handful” of strike cases and has not tried any three strike violators, he said.
Although altering the law could have a minimal direct effect on the county because the percentage of strike cases is small, Sarsfield said he’s opposed to the law because it could release habitual criminals back into society.
“You can’t argue with the fact that since Three Strikes went into effect the crime rate has gone down,” he said. “Not everyone was happy when Three Strikes passed, but it passed with an overwhelming majority and I would be surprised if 66 is successful. Not a lot of people are unduly supportive of career criminals.”
Sarsfield didn’t know the exact number of county residents convicted under Three Strikes over the years and the state Department of Corrections was unable to give that information over the phone Tuesday.
Former District Attorney Harry Damkar estimated his office convicted approximately 20 people for Three Strikes from 1995 to 2002, but said he could not verify that number.
When the law first went into effect, spurred in part by the murder of 12-year-old Polly Klass in 1993, Damkar said he supported the original version that would send someone to prison for life only if the third strike was a violent crime.
The current law states that if a person has two strikes from serious or violent crimes, such as sexual assault or residential burglary, and they commit a third felony it can be considered a strike and they can receive a sentence of 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Damkar said that while he hasn’t thoroughly read the proposition, he supports mandating that the third strike be a serious or violent felony.
“Otherwise someone could have a couple strikes way back when, shoplift something and now they’re facing a life sentence,” he said. “It seems to be unfair to people.”
Damkar said he doesn’t necessarily support taking residential burglary off the list of crimes considered strikes, but conceded it would depend because “every case is different.”
Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller is opposed to the proposition because eliminating crimes including arson, residential burglary and felony gang crimes from the strike list would directly affect Hollister and law enforcement’s ability to keep it safe, he said.
“When you have career criminals breaking into houses – think of the danger it puts all of our families in,” Miller said. “If you’re going to be safe, you should be safe in your home.”
Joe Klass, grandfather of Polly Klass, supports the proposition because it preserves harsh sentences for crimes but reserves life sentences for violent and serious criminals, he said in a written statement.
“Californians intended the Three Strikes law to target murderers, rapists and kidnappers, not pizza thieves and bad check writers,” Klass said in the statement. “California is the only Three Strikes state that doesn’t require a third felony conviction to be violent or serious to trigger the harshest sentence.”
Under the current law, prosecutors have the discretion not to add a strike enhancement on a third felony charge and judges have the ability to strike a strike, Sarsfield said.
“I understand the concern that it could be abused, but I don’t think there’s been any information to show it has been abused,” he said. “I don’t see it as a situation that needs to be fixed.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
em*******@fr***********.com
.
