ACTIVISTS SEEK TO LIMIT THREE-STRIKES LAW SENTENCING

Crime: Group Says Life Terms For Some Offenses Are Overly Harsh. Assembly Is
Expected To Vote This Week On Whether To Study The Issue.

By age 12, Shane Reams regularly smoked marijuana.

By high school, he was strung out on crack.

Twice he burglarized neighbors' homes to support his habit. And because his
mother believed in tough love, she drove him to the police station to turn him
in. Sue Reams didn't realize that she also was helping convict her son of the
first two strikes that placed him behind bars for 25 years to life after the
28-year-old's drug-related arrest last year. "I never, ever, would have done
what I did if I'd known it would lead to this," said Reams, who supported the
popular three-strikes law--until it ensnared her son. Now, she helps lead a
group of Orange County activists called Families to Amend Three Strikes, part
of a cadre of Southern Californians seeking to limit the use of the 1994
law to
cases involving violent and especially serious crimes. The organization began
last year as a support group mainly for grieving mothers and wives of men
facing life in prison.

It is now a growing political force within a similar statewide movement and
boasts close ties to chapters in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose. Reams
and
others concede that they have embraced an unsympathetic cause and face an
uphill battle.

But they say that the three-strikes law--which calls for a prison sentence of
25 years to life for defendants with three or more felony convictions--is
overly harsh. In Orange County, nonviolent drug offenses have accounted for
roughly 70% of the estimated 600 third-strike convictions since the law's
passage, according to Public Defender Carl Holmes, who said there are similar
statistics throughout Southern California. The group's immediate goal is to
convince the Legislature to vote in favor of studying the costs of the
three-strikes law--an analysis that members hope will jolt the public into
recognizing that billions in tax dollars are being spent to keep drug addicts
behind bars. "We don't put all the alcoholics in jail, so should we put all
the
drug offenders in jail for life?" asked Reams, who answered her own
question by
saying public funds would be better used to help drug users beat their
addictions. Many of the group's members say they support tough punishment for
violent offenders.

And Reams does not dispute that her son should be in prison for his drug
violations. But she said he never physically harmed anyone and does not
deserve
such a severe punishment. Members say their biggest victory to date has been
gaining the support of Rep. Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach). Baugh emphasized
that he supports the three-strikes law, but believes that it may need
improvement. "It appears there have been some unjust applications of the law,
and I don't think we should be afraid to evaluate whether that indeed is
true,"
he said. The Orange County branch works closely with the Los Angeles chapter,
which says that having members from a conservative enclave like Orange County
helps legitimize its cause. After the South-Central group held a candlelight
vigil, Orange County's did too. South-Central members held a town hall meeting
in February; Orange County members had one in May. Orange County residents
have
picketed along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Los Angeles; Los Angeles
members have attended events in Orange County. "There's a tremendous
appreciation in L.A. for Orange County," said Geri Silva of the Los Angeles
branch. Members went to Sacramento recently to testify before the Assembly
regarding the need for the fiscal study.

It has taken unrelenting effort to push the request for an analysis to the
Assembly floor. But successes are measured in increments and activists see a
long-term fight ahead.

With a vote expected this week, a push is underway. "We've moved all the
people
who are going to be moved by the emotional aspect of the issue.

Now we need to move the economic conservatives," said Orange County activist
Tim Carpenter. "That's the final frontier for us and it's not going to be
easy." Recent meetings with Orange County legislators have yielded mixed
results. Rep. Richard Ackerman (R-Fullerton) said he met with the group last
week and came away unsure that a three-strikes study is needed.

Ackerman said he did his own research and concluded that a study would be
premature. "Also, I know it's expensive to lock people up for life, but it's
also expensive to have criminals victimizing society," Ackerman said. And
although foes of the three-strike's law say Reams' story is a good example of
why the law should be amended, proponents say it underscores why the law
works.
Although arrested and jailed as a juvenile, Shane Reams continued his pattern
of drug use and crime into adulthood.

Imprisoning him may be expensive, but it keeps him off the street, say
proponents of the three-strikes law. "Once a person's committed two serious or
violent felonies, the emphasis should be on protecting society rather than
worrying about helping the criminal," said Orange County Assistant Dist. Atty.
Brent Romney, director of Municipal Court operations. "Also, it's not that
hard
to not commit a felony." One of the most persuasive critics of the
three-strikes law is public defender Holmes, who is armed with statistics and
stories of seemingly trivial offenses punished with life sentences. "I think
everyone who voted for the three-strikes law expected we were going after
violent people who were hurting our children," Holmes said. But most of the
public defender's cases are for drug possession, he said. "We have people here
convicted on three strikes for theft of doughnuts or beer," Holmes said.
Romney
agreed that programs to help drug addicts beat their addictions would be
welcome.

But until then, his job is to punish people who commit crimes. "When people in
our society can come up with some kind of a program to help these addicts
overcome their addiction, our office will be one of the very first to support
and endorse it," he said. "'Incarceration is not the best answer, but right
now
it's the best answer to protect society."

Copyright 1998 Los Angeles Times. All Rights Reserved

Checked-by: Ghamal de la Guardia