Study: California three-strikes law imprisons more than other states
California imprisons more felons under its three-strikes law than almost every other three-strikes state combined, a report by an advocacy group found. The report's authors and other three-strikes opponents cited the data as evidence that California's toughest-in-the-nation law is draconian and must be reformed. "It's shameful that a state like California would incarcerate under three strikes 42,000 people, many for nonviolent offenses, the majority African-American males," Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland said Thursday. California voters will have the chance to change their sentencing law Nov. 2 when they cast ballots on Proposition 66, which would amend the law to require the third strike offense to be a serious or violent felony. Presently, any felony can constitute a third strike, including crimes like burglary and nonresidential arson that would not count as third strikes if Proposition 66 passes. The measure would also make inmates whose third strike wasn't serious or violent eligible for re-sentencing. The new report, releasted Thursday by the Washington-based Justice Policy Institute, which promotes alternatives to incarceration, could serve as fuel for both sides. [
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