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WHO ARE THE 3-STRIKERS?

 

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Life Sentence for $20 Robbery: Locking people like me up for life isn't the answer by Dean Fillion DailyKos
As for my path. I grew up living with my mom and she had a few husbands and there was a lot of abuse and neglect on my mother and step fathers' parts. So I started drinking and running the streets when I was young until I got into trouble and had to go live with my dad.

Well, that was all good until I started drinking again and then I got involved with gangs and that's when the trouble really started. But the biggest reason I drank was because I felt sorry for myself and I felt unloved. This biggest problem was I never grew into a man. I did things men do, but my maturity was always a kid...

All these crimes are alcoholic related and in neither Robbery 2 did anyone get hurt... But even so, now that I've been sitting here for almost thirteen years, I think how foolish and dumb I was. Freedom and family are so important that committing crime is just not what it seems. Though I did not have family support then, I have it now. This prison helped me grow into a man and saved me from a death on the streets... I know without a doubt I could live and work and pay taxes and follow the laws as my family does and live a normal life. I have had a lot of time to think about all this. I would like one last chance. But I can't do that without society's help. Please give us one more chance.

 

 
Fifty-Year Search Finds Son Serving 3-Strikes Life Sentence by Gerald White Sr. Daily Kos

"... we learned that (Gerald White Jr.) is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole under Washington's harsh "3-Strikes" law. Imagine our shock since we are a proud and law abiding family, many members in law enforcement.

"His story tells of a long series of things that should never have happened. Addicted to heroin at the age of 15, the streets of Seattle were his home; bikers, junkies, prostitutes were his family. With the lack of any parental love and guidance and no strong family support whatsoever, his entire life was focused on the crime necessary to maintain his very bad habit. His involvement in narcotics was the direct and proximate cause of his criminal activities which of course culminated in this "never-ending" punishment for him...

"We look forward to the day when the mandatory minimum sentences become history and crimes are punished in accordance to their severity. Our son has been "clean" for many years and is not a threat to society and is not deserving of a lifetime behind bars. Washington law says that the taxpayer must spend $1 million each to keep him and others like him incarcerated. They serve the same sentence as the Green River killer, confessed murderer of more than 48 women, and others guilt of heinous crimes. It doesn't make any sense to us at all. Crime must be punished but certainly taking someone's whole life is cruel and unusual punishment when it's not warranted."

 

 

Coming soon: Larry Fisher's story
Larry Fisher has been serving under Washington's 3-Strikes law for 3 Robbery 2s since 1994. He was one of the first people sentenced under the law in Washington state. Larry was one of six 3-Strikers who did videotaped interviews with Justice Works! volunteers this past summer. Footage from these interviews is planned for release by the end of the 2009 legislative session.

 

 

Coming soon: John Wheeler's story
John Wheeler was sentenced under 3-Strikes for 3 Robbery 2s in 1998. He is one of six 3-Strikers who did videotaped interviews with Justice Works! volunteers this past summer. Footage from these interviews is planned for release by the end of the 2009 legislative session.

 

 

Coming soon: Stonney River's story
Stonney Rivers was sentenced under 3-Strikes in 1995 for a Robbery 2, an Assault 2, and a Robbery 1. He is one of six 3-Strikers who did videotaped interviews with Justice Works! volunteers this past summer. Footage from these interviews is planned for release by the end of the 2009 legislative session. Photo by Russell Edwards.

 

 

Coming soon: Paul River's story
Paul Rivers was sentenced under 3-Strikes for 2 Robbery 2s and an Assault 2 in 1998. He is one of six 3-Strikers who did videotaped interviews with Justice Works! volunteers this past summer. Footage from these interviews is planned for release by the end of the 2009 legislative session.

 

 

3-Strikes Guest Post: "Dumped in the Streets of an Alien Town", John Letellier, 1/2/09, Washblog
John Letellier has been serving a Life sentence under Washington's 3 Strikes law since 1999.
"Am I a colossal Public Nuisance? Absolutely! I am now 56 years old, however, and it's safe to say my days of acting like an idiot are over, okay. But in terms of the past, yes, I'm besotted with contrition. I'm a military veteran. I could get out of prison and enter a V.A. Hospital program. Wouldn't this better serve us all? I've spent 8 1/2 to 9 years in prison for a crime in which there was no real criminal intent! I was actually in the process of trying to get into a substance abuse program on my own accord, having matriculated from a mental health facility in Longview to Vancouver, only to be told that there was a "mix up"; that I would have to wait 6-8 weeks to get into the program. Well, I surely wouldn't have signed the transfer papers had I known that I'd be dumped in the streets of an alien town!"

 

 

Is This Not Also Torture: "Treating" Addiction in WA With Lifetime Prison Sentences, James Moody, 11/27/08, Washblog, Daily Kos
Washington's Three Strikes law requires, for the lifetime of the person who is sentenced, and without any other option available to the state, the use of our most expensive public safety tool: incarceration. With treatment, James Moody could be working, paying taxes, paying for his own medical bills, and helping others. Under Three Strikes, he is an expensive ward of the state, which is required to provide adequate medical care to him, to bear the entire cost, and has no leeway to seek less expensive alternatives that would also protect public safety.

 

 

How does a person get sentenced to 777 years in Washington? Ask Jackie Fletcher, Theresa Matheson with Jacqueline Fletcher. 11/23/08, Washblog, Daily Kos
How does a person get sentenced to 777 years, 77 months, and 77 days? Ask Jackie Fletcher. She is neither a sexual predator or a murderer. Jackie committed three second degree robberies. No one was physically injured. How can she receive comparable sentences to killers like Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgeway, and Robert Yates? The Three Strikes initiative promised to put away "the worst of the worst," but instead has given life sentences to low level offenders. At the time of Jackie's sentencing, the judge stated that the justice system (specifically the probation department) had failed Jackie and that the law left the judge no choice but to sentence her to Life Without the Possibility of Parole. No choice? What is wrong with this picture?

 

 

A 3-Strikes Story: Abusive Foster Care, Deadly Streets, Broken Public Defense: We can do better, Noemie Maxwell, 9/16/08, Washblog, Daily Kos
The three convictions underlying Schawn Cruze's life sentence are for possession of drugs and a firearm and two Assault 2s. Assault 2 is at level 4 on Washington's 16-level scale of criminal seriousness at RCW 9.94A.515. Although Level 4 crimes are in the bottom quartile of seriousness under state law, the 3-Strikes ballot initiative included them on the list of "most serious crimes". These lower seriousness crimes are now the most common triggers for life imprisonment under 3-Strikes in Washington. In 2001, the state's Sentencing Guidelines Commission recommended that the legislature evaluate whether all forms of Assault 2 should remain on the 3-Strikes list, as some forms are "probably not commensurate" with strike status. The legislature has never required this review. Schawn's punishment has been especially cruel. He and his family estimate that he has spent somewhere between 6 and 8 of the last 11 years in "intensive management", alone, 23-hours a day, in a room the size of a bathroom. The goal in this story is not to place all responsibility for Schawn's situation on the state; he recognizes and accepts his own responsibility. It is to help illustrate that it is counterproductive -- and a profound injustice and waste of human potential -- to shortchange basic investments like foster care for children, adequate public defense, and treatment and education for people in prison -- while lavishing money on expensive, extreme, and experimental punishments like Life without Parole for lower seriousness crimes and long-term supermaximum isolation.

 

 

Cherease Cross: Kind, Beautiful, and Caring, She Deserved a Better Chance, Shirley White, 8/26/08, Washblog, Daily Kos
Back in March, 2000, a young woman named Cherease Cross was convicted of her third offense. She was the third woman to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole under Washington's 3-Strikes law. She did not deserve to receive a sentence of life in prison. Mental illness and drug addiction had plagued Cherease's young life. She was a single-mom, a crack addict and a sexual abuse victim. She had committed three low-level second degree robberies to support an expensive drug habit.

 

 

Abuse of Discretion: Life Without Parole for Door Mat Burning, Steven Darby McDonald, 6/30/06., Washblog, Daily Kos, Horses Ass (Your Tax Dollars at Work)
DATELINE MOUNT VERNON WASHINGTON: A crime took place in a downtown motel in Mount Vernon Washington on February 4, 1996. A door mat was burned. Damages were hard to calculate, but an estimate might be determined on the basis of this description in a Washington Supreme Court decision: "The State charged McDonald with first and second degree arson. The first degree arson charge was based upon the defendant setting fire to the welcome mat outside a motel room, which destroyed the mat and discolored the door before being extinguished." According to the hotel's manager, Mrs. Stevens, the damage was non-existent except for having to repaint the door, which she decided to do at the end of the season. Further, she told investigator Kevin Steward that she was not going to file a loss-restitution statement seeking damages because "she had been taught that honesty is the best medicine." The accused arsonist was 42 year old Steven Darby McDonald, who had no history of prior door mat burnings, and who called 911 to report that the door mat was burning and then pulled it from harm's way so that the motel room door would not ignite.

 

 

Freedom Culminating: Life Sentences Require Evidence Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, Theodore Rhone with input from Frank Banks, Spencer Carter, and Anthony Jones, 6/10/08., Washblog
In light of the Judicial System and all it holds for the prisoner, family and friends, and taxpayers, we must as a society strengthen and straighten its feeble cords. It has become injustice for a targeted race of people - and a criminal felony act against society as a whole with no sign of remorse in sight, leaving America to believe that justice has been properly, legally, and evenly propagated. Until injustice by your judicial system happens to you. Your support is needed. People who are incarcerated are not regarded as citizens and have few rights and, therefore, we do not have the ear of those in power.

 

 

Life Sentence at 21 for No-Weapon No-Injury Crimes, David Conyers, 5/25/08., Washblog, Daily Kos (Voted by readers onto the recommended list)
Hello, my name is David Conyers and I am a current 3 Striker residing at the Monroe Correctional Complex. Back in 1994, 13 years ago, I was the youngest person in the state of Washington, a tender 21 years old, to be sentenced to life under 3 Strikes - charged and convicted of four counts of second degree robbery. None of my prior convictions, nor my current offenses involved a weapon whatsoever, nor was anyone hurt or killed. I was a kid back then with no guidance or direction, just being reckless and foolish. I very much regret the things I did wrong to my victims, because they didn't deserve to be put in fear or have anything taken from them. I've grown up a lot and I now see life on a different perspective. However, I firmly believe that I shouldn't be spending the rest of my life in prison for a crime such as Robbery 2. Now I believe that any person, male or female, should be held accountable if he or she commits a crime. However, you cannot compare or place a second degree robbery with murder, rape, or child molestation.

 

 

Three-Strikes Guest Post: I am not a Disposable Human Being
Ronald Peters, 3/27/08., Washblog, Daily Kos
I have all but given up on faith and hope that the reality of this unbearably harsh law will come to light in the public's eye and will bring about positive changes in the way that it is applied and that it truly be reserved for the worst of the worst. This is not to say that I don't deserve to be punished but I know that I'M NOT THE WORST OF THE WORST. I am not a disposable human being. Unfortunately for me, my addictions did not allow me to see as far as and/or beyond the consequences of my actions, but I still feel that the time should fit the crime... It's never been in my heart to physically harm another human being, although I cannot deny the psychological trauma that I've caused to my victims by my actions. I've never murdered, raped, or molested another human being, but reflections upon my past disturb my soul. I believe that this is so because I have truly matured during my years of incarceration. If nothing else, I can surely say that 3-Strikes has shown me where and how I don't want to spend the remainder of my natural life: in a cage with no real human contact that family and friends truly share. I often wonder what my life may have been like had I been granted an opportunity to participate in a drug treatment program? There are no answers, just speculation.

 


Photo by Inye Wokoma
Courtesy ColorsNW Magazine

 

Imprisoned for life in WA for an attempted wallet grab, Al-Kareem Shadeed, 1/15/08, Washblog, Daily Kos
My name is Al-Kareem Shadeed. I'm 34 years old and I have received a life sentence without the possibility of parole under the 3 Strikes Law. None of my crimes involved a weapon and I have never, ever caused injuries to anyone! Ironically, my sentence is the same as the Green River killer's sentence. And, other people who have viciously murdered and raped women and children are getting out of prison while I never will. Confused? Let me explain. In 1989, while still a juvenile, I had a problem with drugs. Like many people, I decided to commit a crime of robbery to support my habit. So came my first strike without any weapon and without any injuries to anyone. My first strike went like this. I saw a man that I did not know. I thought that he'd have some money because of the fancy clothes that he wore. I figured that he would be easy to intimidate. I thought that if I acted like I would fight him, which I really wasn't interested in doing, that he would give me the money I needed to get some more drugs. So I walked up to him and said "Hey man, give me your money." To my surprise, he didn't show any resistance at all. He just handed me his money. I left and a short while later I got caught near where I stole the man's money. As you can see, I wasn't much of a career criminal. I was acting more like a drug addict only interested in his drugs because I wasn't worried about getting caught. I surely needed guidance back then because my decisions were very poor and my thinking worse. I did 8 months in prison for that crime. But my thinking didn't get corrected while I was locked up. I was still a drug addict and I felt bad about what I did but I still didn't think much about the harm I had done to my victim. Not much changed.

 

 

To Those Who Have Shown Notice to Cruel and Unconstitutional Laws in Washington State, Joseph Scott Wharton, 1/1/08, Washblog
Tragic events take place in all our lives but imagine realizing you may die in prison for a Crime in which I never murdered, raped, molested or any deviant behavior, never shot, stabbed, or even touched my victim in my 2nd degree robbery convictions, yet I'm guilty as hell and more than sorry for those lives I may have caused to be rudely interrupted by my idiotic behavior that was contributed to by lack of life and survivor skills, this combined with $300 - $400 per day on the maniac side of crack cocaine addiction = lawlessness. The evil Clutches of this can destroy the strongest human being, and in very little time you find a view from the bottom of the well looking up.... My story is not of Robin Hood.

 

 

Guest post from WA State Reformatory: These crimes do not merit life imprisonment, Stevan Dozier, 12/30/07, Washblog, Daily Kos
I am Stevan Dozier, sentenced to Life Without Parole under the 3 Strikes Law. The crime that I committed is Second Degree Robbery. I am not proud of the fact that 14 years ago I took a purse from a lady. In 1993-94, I was not the same man that I am now. I won't bore you with a story of past substance abuse issues. I will tell you that during the 14 years I have now served, I've learned self worth and self respect as well as how to respect others. I am redeemable. I truly regret the fact that I broke the law. During my incarceration, I have worked and repaid all financial restitution to the present and previous victims of my misbehavior.

 

 

Life in prison without parole for low-violence crimes: can Washington find redemption?, Noemie Maxwell, 12/11/07, Washblog
(At his resentencing hearing) Bartley offered his "humble, most sincere apologies to my victims and to society." He thanked the judge and his supporters. He said that his failure to face his substance abuse had led him to commit "deplorable, cowardly acts unacceptable in society." The people I harmed, he said, "did not deserve to be victimized. I hope they have been able to recover." He described long years of his incarceration during which he had to face the reality that he could not undo the harm he had caused to other people and that he might die in prison. "Still, I wanted my time to count for something," he said. And so he worked to atone for his crimes by pursuing his own education and reaching out to others to offer GED tutoring and help with legal matters. "Education is a gift," he said. It is what he focused on, in the process, trying to set an example for the younger prisoners. My plea, he said, is that my accomplishments count for something. I remain infraction free for a decade. I do want to respect law and order, I do want to follow the rules. I have undergone a spiritual transformation.

 

Other Stories
  • Washington State's War on the Black Family, Le Roi Brashears, Washblog, 12/12/08
    "Alongside drug sentences, "Three Strikes" offenses are perhaps the most objective example of notorious racial disparity in Washington State.

    Under "Three-Strikes," African Americans are sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole at a rate nearly 19 times higher than for white offenders. Same crime - more time.

    The most frequently used "third strike" is robbery 2 - an offense that does not involve injuries to innocent bystanders or brandishing a weapon, but nevertheless triggers an automatic life sentence with no possibility of parole for those convicted with two prior felony convictions."

  • Conversation with Chase Riveland, Head of Washington Corrections when the Tough-on-Crime Wave Hit, Noemie Maxwell, Washblog, 7/28/08

    "There have been many tries over the years to do thoughtful tweaks to the law. These have had no relationship to whether they can fly politically. There are always unintended consequences with anything as complex as criminal law. What it will take to make fixes in the law will be one of two things. The first is a public groundswell - this is the public in general and also prosecutors, law enforcement, defenders. If you push enough buttons there can be progress. The other thing is if it can be handled in something that's a much bigger bill. But very few politicians, whether they're liberal or conservative, will want to go out in front of an issue like this and highlight it, though they may believe reform is necessary.

    "I was opposed to the 3-strikes law from the beginning. This was a ballot issue and people appointed by the Governor can't take a public position on a ballot initiative. I wasn't supposed to talk to the newspapers about it but when a friend from the PI asked me about it I said, "I'm neither for nor against that stupid law." She published that. I said to someone at the time that, if I'd been fined $100 for the quote, I would have sent in $200 and said it again.

    "The first version in Washington was quite egregious, more like what we see today in California. But it got watered down. The person who was the major modifying influence was (former King County Prosecuting Attorney) Norm Maleng. He was the leader in the prosecutors organization, although in general the prosecutors association supported it. I was on the Sentencing Guidelines Commission at the time. There are times you just see things are going to happen, like this ballot initiative with heavy financing steamrolling it through. The best you can do is to try to moderate it."

  • National Significance of Washington's 3-Strikes Law, Noemie Maxwell, 4/6/08, Washblog.
    We have applied sweeping changes to how we do criminal justice -- without evidence that they work. We have based our policies on a foundation of guesswork, trial-and-error, hope, fear, anger, and economic and political profit considerations. 3-Strikes, in a sense, is the centerpiece of a vast and reckless social experiment that has led us to the most dramatic mass incarceration ever in human history.
  • An effort to get politicians focused on needed sentencing reforms, Douglas A. Berman, Sentencing Law and Policy, 1/13/08.
    "Especially with so many states (as well as the feds) struggling with prison and sentencing reform issues, I keep waiting and hoping for the national political dialog to focus more on serious crime and punishment issues. Helpfully, I see that political folks working elsewhere are making serious efforts to push sentencing reform issues into the political agenda. Specifically, here's what I learned via e-mail from a helpful person affiliated with Washblog..."
  • Washington State Democratic Party 3-Strikes Resolution, 2008. All Resolutions