To: The California State House, The California State Senate, and Governor Gavin Newsom
Domestic Violence is Violence!
Recently, California modified Proposition 36 or the Three Strikes law. Originally, the law stated that after committing three felonies a person could automatically be sentenced to a term of 25 years to life. Though a good law, it was flawed, in that it could treat small time felons as big time criminals. In order to make the Three Strikes law fair, legislators changed it so that a convicted felon could only get life in prison after committing three “serious or violent crimes.” The problem is that domestic violence is not on the list of serious or violent crimes. So, it is not okay to beat a stranger, but it is okay to beat your family.
Why is this important?
A family member's abusive partner recently got out of prison because domestic violence is not on the list of violent and serious crimes. The perpetrator had been convicted of "corporeal abuse on a spouse" (domestic violence) under the original Three Strikes law, but that is no longer one of the forty crimes listed as serious or violent. Because domestic violence is not on the list of violent and serious crimes in the new law, he was released early, causing further threat and trauma to the family.