Three strikes, out? Sea change in California.

• Author: Welch, Matt
• Position: Citings

Since 1994 California's "three strikes" law has mandated that criminals convicted of a third felony must be sentenced to at least 25 years in prison, regardless of the third crime's severity, if one of the three offenses was "serious or violent." On November 2, by a vote of 53 percent to 47 percent, Golden State voters failed to pass Proposition 66, which would have required that the third offense be "serious or violent." Polls showed the initiative attracting 62 percent support just two weeks before Election Day; it took every living current and former California governor and millions of dollars' worth of last-ditch TV ads to derail it.

Despite the defeat, evidence is mounting that California's tough-on-crime wave has reached its crest. "There's some real reason to be optimistic about the situation," says Lenor Nunez, deputy campaign manager of the Yes on 66 Coalition. "Now that the governor saw that 4.5 million people voted for some sort of reform, he knows the people of California are tired of the three-strikes law, and he has already said he's now willing to negotiate." Indeed, while Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opposed Proposition 66--it would have required rehearings and possible releases for up to 26,000 third-strike prisoners, many of whom he presumed to be violent--he says he's...