Millionares Give to Proposition 66 fund against 3 Strikes Law
The effort to pass a ballot measure that would tone down California's tough "three-strikes" sentencing law has received three $150,000 donations from some of the nation's largest backers of Democrat-oriented political groups. International financier George Soros, insurance magnate Peter Lewis and private university founder John Sperling each gave $150,000 to help pass Proposition 66, according to campaign finance records. The contributions were received Friday. In a written release, the "The Yes on 66 - Fix Three Strikes" campaign said the $450,000 came via the Drug Policy Alliance Network, a national drug-law reform organization. The proposition's backers argue that the three-strikes law unjustly ensnares small-time users with lifetime sentences. They want the stiff sentencing guidelines to apply only to people convicted of "serious or violent" felonies such as rape and murder - what they call the "original intent" of voters who passed the original law a decade ago. Lewis, chairman of the board of the suburban Cleveland-based insurer Progressive Corp., and Soros have donated millions this election cycle to Democratic-leaning causes. Sperling is founder of the University of Phoenix. [more 
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