California voted for the three strikes rule in 1995. There was much concern by CA criminal lawyers regarding the effect of such a law. Criminals who were second and third time offenders got much more severe sentences. For example, when Curtis Wilkerson stole some socks, he was prosecuted for a felony. Since he was a convicted robber in 1981 at the age of 19, he got life in prison.

A group from Stanford law school has now dedicated themselves to getting folks like Wilkerson out of prison. Two professors are heading up the mission to right some of the most ridiculous three-strike wrongs. There are over one-thousand 3-strikers who have written the group to have their cases reviewed. So far the group has been victorious on three occasions.

The history of the three strike rule is sad and ugly. When two young girls were murdered by individuals who already had criminal records, the state of California, as well as the country went into mob mode. The law was approved by an overwhelming seventy two percent of voters.

The rule is structured so that second time offenders get 2 times the regular sentence and 3 time offenders get 25 years to life in prison. But the real kicker is that for your third strike you can get life even for non-violent or serious crimes. Therefore, petty theft becomes punishable by life.

In California today, there are people locked up for life for stealing loose change, stealing tools from a parked truck, and other petty offenses. Many of these will be in prison for life for committing these petty thefts. The three strike rule has really done nothing more than create an untenable situation for the California prison system.

A study by the states non-partisan Legislative Analysts Office after the laws first decade found that crime rates in California, as in the nation, began declining before the law was passed, and that counties which used the law more had no better results than counties which used it less. On the other hand, the law lengthens the average prison sentence and raises the average age of inmates, so costing the state an additional $500m a year. This in a state now frantically making cuts to avoid insolvency.