by Lauren Chase
Mustang Daily (California Poly State U.)
U-Wire
Leandro Andrade, a California man, was given a 50 years-to-life sentence for a third-strike crime of stealing "Cinderella," "Snow White" and "Free Willy" videos from K-Mart.
But does the punishment fit the crime?
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California legislators believe so -- or at least that was their consensus eight years ago.
The three-strikes statute was brought to life as a result of outrage after a parolee murdered 12-year-old Polly Klaas of Petaluma, Calif., in 1993.
If the intention of the statute is to get heinous, crime-committing dirtbags off of the streets, then I'm all for it -- but sending shoplifters to jail and throwing away the key is not the answer.
The statute needs to be revised so it only applies to those who engage in violent felonies.
Commit acts of murder -- welcome to your new room. It's called a cell. Molest a child -- you better get cozy in there. Rape -- enjoy your life in prison. It makes perfect sense.
But stealing a $2 slice of pizza, a $4 magazine or a $25 shirt is not justification for a life sentence. I understand that revolving-door criminals should be dealt with differently than first-time offenders.
Instead of using our tax dollars to house them in a penitentiary, let's use our money on something beneficial -- like education and crime prevention.
Supporters of the law scare the public into believing that three-strikes is the solution.
"We shouldn't have to wait for another victim to be raped or another child to be sexually abused," said Bill Jones, the California secretary of state who sponsored the bill as a legislator.
By making such a statement, Jones is ultimately playing on the public's sense of fear. He creates a feeling of paranoia that without the law, murderers or kidnappers are around every corner. We can't go around expecting that all criminals are time bombs waiting to go off -- it's not a fair assumption.
"My brother was put away for half a gram of cocaine," said Jose Verduzgo, a warehouse laborer. "He was an addict, but he had a job, he had a family and he never hurt anyone. Now he is buried alive, and he won't get out until he is 80."
Is this California's definition of justice? Obviously, cocaine is a serious problem, but instead of being forced to undergo drug abuse treatment he's getting a punishment that doesn't fit the crime. Society is not better off because he was removed from it.
Over the past decade, 26 states have enacted three-strikes statutes.
However, California is the only one that can lead to a life in prison for a nonviolent offense. Welcome to the Golden State.
According to an article written in Time magazine by Margot Roosevelt, of the 7,300 prisoners sentenced to 25-years-to-life in California, more than 2,000 are behind bars for burglary or theft, 700 for drug possession and 344 for shoplifting.
The three-strikes law is too wide of a net. We need to strongly target violent crime and give lifetime sentences to those who are authentic threats to society. Psychos who kill or rape people do not deserve another chance at life. But going to jail for stealing a slice of pizza is ridiculous.
