Dem. Sen. Gloria Romero, disappointed after her 3 strikes reform bill, SB 1642, died, has begun hinting that a reform package might appear on the ballot, possibly in 2008.

Senator Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, and L.A. District Attorney Steve Cooley say it is “highly likely” that voters will see another initiative designed to change the state’s three-strikes sentencing law in 2008. The pair, who worked together this year on a stalled Senate proposal to change the law, said they still think voters are ready to alter the sentencing policy.
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Three strikes was moved to the top of many district attorneys’ priority lists by Proposition 66 in 2004. This measure was narrowly defeated by voters after a late full court press by law enforcement groups and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Cooley opposed that measure, saying it went much too far in terms of eliminating third-strike offenses.

However, he said, it got him thinking about the need for reform. This led to a Dec. 3, 2004, meeting in San Francisco between himself, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris and Alameda District Attorney Tom Orloff. Cooley said the meeting spurred him to write numerous measures, including 1642 and a currently-active ballot measure, number 1213, on the secretary of state’s Web site. Cooley said that after consulting recently with campaign consultant John Shallman, he decided there was not time qualify the initiative this year.  (Capitol Weekly 7/27/06)

The initiative and statute have not made Cooley any friends within the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA) either.  It’s not hard to understand why a bunch of district attorneys would oppose a 3 strikes reform effort, after all the “tough on crime” people will vilify you for your efforts.  But Romero and Cooley are working to see that some three strikes reform happens, and that’s a credit to them in that they are standing up for their principles and helping reform the prison system where it really needs it: in sentencing.

SB 1642 had some holes, as most bills like this do.  However, it would have gone a long way towards not only reducing the three strikes population but also towards discussing further sentencing reform.  Prop 36, the drug rehab instead of prison initiative, is being attacked on all sides, but the fact remains that it has been far more successful than locking drug addicts up.  Now is the time to consider some truly bold reforms in an attempt to build a correction and rehabilitation system that will be stable in the long-term.  And three strikes reform would be a good first step towards these goals.