qwerty
10-30-2004, 09:52 PM
I hope this holds true... and by the way, George Soros ROCKS!!!!!!
Governor fights reform of 3 strikes
By Howard Mintz_
KNIGHT RIDDER
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is putting $1 million and his movie star mug behind a last-ditch effort to defeat Proposition 66, a reform of California's three strikes law that has been widely favored in the polls.
Schwarzenegger will appear in two television ads slated to begin airing today, funded by the California Recovery Team, his main campaign fund-raising arm for a number of initiatives. That includes his balanced budget measure in the spring and his campaign against a gambling measure on next Tuesday's ballot.
Prop. 66 would soften the toughest sentencing law in the nation, changing it to require a defendant to be convicted of a violent or serious felony on a third strike to become eligible for a 25-year-to-life prison term. Right now, California is the only state that allows defendants to receive those harsh life terms for a nonviolent third strike such as petty theft or drug possession.
The most recent Field Poll showed that voters overwhelmingly support the change, with 65 percent in favor and 18 percent saying they planned to vote "no." In addition, until now, supporters of the measure have far outpaced opponents in fund raising.
Indeed, wealthy Prop. 66 supporters George Soros and John Sperling responded to the governor Tuesday by contributing $700,000 more to the Yes on 66 campaign.
Schwarzenegger's infusion of cash, as well as a surge of spending by the state's powerful prison guards union, is meant to be a late push to change voters' minds. But even the governor's spokesman conceded Tuesday that it "very well could be too little, too late."
Opponents of the measure, including all of the state's district attorneys, say more than 20,000 violent criminals could be released from prison if the law passes. Supporters say prosecutors are using scare tactics, arguing that about 4,000 convicts would be released or resentenced.
Governor fights reform of 3 strikes
By Howard Mintz_
KNIGHT RIDDER
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is putting $1 million and his movie star mug behind a last-ditch effort to defeat Proposition 66, a reform of California's three strikes law that has been widely favored in the polls.
Schwarzenegger will appear in two television ads slated to begin airing today, funded by the California Recovery Team, his main campaign fund-raising arm for a number of initiatives. That includes his balanced budget measure in the spring and his campaign against a gambling measure on next Tuesday's ballot.
Prop. 66 would soften the toughest sentencing law in the nation, changing it to require a defendant to be convicted of a violent or serious felony on a third strike to become eligible for a 25-year-to-life prison term. Right now, California is the only state that allows defendants to receive those harsh life terms for a nonviolent third strike such as petty theft or drug possession.
The most recent Field Poll showed that voters overwhelmingly support the change, with 65 percent in favor and 18 percent saying they planned to vote "no." In addition, until now, supporters of the measure have far outpaced opponents in fund raising.
Indeed, wealthy Prop. 66 supporters George Soros and John Sperling responded to the governor Tuesday by contributing $700,000 more to the Yes on 66 campaign.
Schwarzenegger's infusion of cash, as well as a surge of spending by the state's powerful prison guards union, is meant to be a late push to change voters' minds. But even the governor's spokesman conceded Tuesday that it "very well could be too little, too late."
Opponents of the measure, including all of the state's district attorneys, say more than 20,000 violent criminals could be released from prison if the law passes. Supporters say prosecutors are using scare tactics, arguing that about 4,000 convicts would be released or resentenced.