“The study showed that more than 4,000 inmates in California are serving life sentences for nonviolent offenses under the three-strikes law. Although judges have sentencing discretion in a very narrow band of three-strikes cases, the reality is that judges almost universally consider themselves bound under California law to impose a life sentence for a third felony offense, no matter how minor. We also learned that the law is disproportionately applied to minorities, the mentally ill and the poor.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/opinion/three-strikes-of-injustice.html?_r=1
Related posts:
Cheers erupt as Egyptian president removed and constitution suspended by military
Obamacare website security called 'outrageous' by John McAfee
U.S. attorney defends handling of Aaron Swartz case as ‘appropriate’
$92 quadrillion: PayPal accidentally makes man a quadrillionaire
NSA chief denies that the agency is spying on your Facebook profile
Bond Funds Lose $30.3 Billion in August in Big ‘Shift’
Alternative medicine, old-school politics bedfellows on marijuana
New ID rules would threaten citizens' rights
Sarasota HuB business incubator to accept bitcoin virtual currency
Sheldon Adelson Becomes Obama Ally as Jewish Groups Back Syria Strike
Denver unemployment sharply lower after marijuana legalization
White House faces high bar on Syria after Bush Administration’s Iraq lies
NHS watchdog: Nurses in tears as 'horrendous' understaffing hits patients
Bitcoin Crash Spurs Race to Create New Exchanges
Samaritans in Taiwan turn plastic junk into items for the needy