 Letters
to the Editor Samples
December 7, 2004 - The Everett Herald (Wa)
Protect Society, But Be Reasonable
Every time I read a sad story like the Nov. 29 article about
the 59-year-old grandmother in Vancouver who was stabbed to death
at her door by a man with a history of violence, I always think
about our three strikes law. We do need to be protected from
violence. But I wonder how many people realize that we are paying
$26,000. per year to house people in prison for life for only
grabbing a wallet on three different occasions. We're spending
$1 million in tax money per purse snatcher to lock them up forever.
This crime is considered second-degree robbery. It does not involve
the use of a weapon and there are no injuries. Still, it is a
"strikeable" offense.
We have people with three such offenses who have the exact
same sentence as the Green River killer. What does this say about
society?
Lea Zengage, Lake Stevens, WA
December 2, 2004 - The Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA)
Three-Strikes Law Unjust, Expensive
Library cuts are not fair! No one likes to see cutbacks in
our important services. At a time when budget crunches are the
order of the day and social services are screaming out for funding,
we must take the time to look for areas where we are spending
needlessly.
Under the current Persistent Offenders Act, a person committing
three secind-degree robberies (no weapons, no injuries) will
get sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
That means that our tax dollars will be spent to house each three-striker
at a rate of $26,000 per year. A 20-year sentence will cost us
about a half million dollars and a life sentence will cost us
about $1 million. This cost increases threefold when that person
attains 55 years of age..
Attempted crimes are also counted and assessed as completed
crimes, thus strikes. I suggest that we think about what we are
doing and why we are doing this.
A huge percentage of our Washington's three-strikers have
second-degree robbery and attempted second-degree robbery as
their strikes. We do not need to spend this money. It would be
much better spent on those desperately needed social services.
We must support changes to the expensive, unjust three-strikes
law.
Shirley M. White, Walla Walla, WA.
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