Judge Gray Calls For Changing "Three Strikes" Policy

(ORANGE COUNTY, CA.) - Saying judges frequently "have their hands tied" by the state's tough and arbitrary criminal sentencing laws, U.S. Senate candidate and state superior court judge James P. "Jim" Gray (L-CA) became the first statewide politician to endorse the recently-qualified ballot measure to amend the "Three Strikes" law.

"From what I see as a trial court judge, the Three Strikes sentencing law is often inefficient and unduly rigid," say Gray, who was appointed by Gov. Deukmejian to the municipal court in 1983 and the superior court in 1989. "We could save hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars every year by simply requiring a third strike be a violent offense."

This week, the California Secretary of State's office told organizers of the "Citizens Against Violent Crime" that they had gathered enough signatures to place the measure on the November ballot, along with at least 13 other propositions, after years of effort to qualify the initiative.

If passed by voters, a criminal convicted of a third strike would still receive a mandatory 25-to-life sentence if they committed a violent crime, such as assault with a deadly weapon, rape, robbery or murder.

The ballot measure, which has not been assigned a proposition number, will also toughen prison sentencing for those convicted of sexually abusing children.

There are 42,322 people in state prison on second and third strikes, according to the Department of Corrections. Only one-third of these are incarcerated for violent crimes. Most of the other two-thirds committed non-violent property or drug offenses. There are three times more marijuana offenders incarcerated on a third strike than for the offenses of robbery, rape and murder combined.

While Gray is the sole statewide candidate to endorse the measure, organizers do have the public backing of eight state lawmakers, six county supervisors and from Irvine Mayor Larry Agran and HB councilwoman Debbie Cook.

In Gray's own race, Sen. Barbara Boxer is silent on the measure and Bill Jones, who authored the original legislation, stands firmly opposed to modifying the law.

"It is a travesty that we spend a billion dollars a year just for the health care costs of the state inmate population, many of whom have long ago stopped being a threat to society," said Judge Gray.

Gray will speak publicly in support of the initiative on June 8th in San Diego and is working with the measure's proponents for speaking events across the state.

"We simply have to bring sanity and fiscal responsibility back to our sentencing laws," said Gray.