[Seattle-editorial] FP: Three Strikes Law

[Jeremy G Kahn]

yes. another good story; we should watch ColorsNW more!

--jeremy

Jason Reep wrote:

> thumbs up
>
> 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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