EFFECTIVENESS OF 3 STRIKES LAW

As soon as I saw the March 8 headline, "Families of Inmates March in
Protest of 3Strikes Law," I knew what was coming.

Sure enough, a few paragraphs later was the quote from one of the
protesters: "This is one of the most racist laws there is." The law
supposedly discriminates against blacks and Latinos, because 70% of
the criminals sentenced under the law are black or Latino. The
solution is simple: If you don't commit the crime, you don't go to
jail! The relatives of these protesters who are sitting in prison made
a conscious decision to break the law, so they are now paying the
price for that decision.

The law doesn't discriminate against blacks and Latinos, it
discriminates against criminals.

RICHARD ROSENTHAL
Long Beach