[Seattle-editorial] FP: Three Strikes Law

[Jason Reep]

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jonathan lawson wrote:

> subtitle: REEXAMINING WASHINGTON'S THREE STRIKES LAW
> title: Until the End of Their Days
> 
> Ten years after Washington voters passed the "three strikes, you’re out" 
> initiative, nearly 220 prisoners sit behind bars for life. Proponents 
> say that we’ve put away the "worst of the worst." But 40 percent of 
> those who have "struck out" have done so because of robbery convictions, 
> compared with 12 percent who are serving life for murder, and 20 percent 
> for a sex crime under the three-strikes statute. In Washington, nearly 
> 36 percent of all three strikers are African American, though they 
> represent merely 3.2 percent of the state population. Opponents of three 
> strikes say the net cast by this law has extended far too wide. 
> According to critics, committing people to prison for life – and 
> especially for non-violent crimes or crimes committed under the 
> influence of drugs and alcohol – ignores the real potential for 
> rehabilitation.
> 
> <p><a href="http://www.colorsnw.com/cover_story.shtml"><i>Colors 
> Northwest</i>'s Silja Talvi has the whole story.</a>
> 
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