SAN JOSE -- Cashier Debbie Curry woke up Wednesday to find California voters had given her a priceless gift: hope.
By an overwhelming margin, they'd passed Proposition 36 to revise the state's tough Three Strikes Law.
The new law prohibits judges from imposing a life sentence on most repeat offenders who commit minor crimes. But it also includes a provision that could result in an early release or shorter sentence for Curry's husband -- and up to 3,000 inmates like him who were sentenced to life in prison for nonviolent, relatively minor crimes like stealing a credit card.
In more severe crimes, like those of child abuse, the accused will seek legal counsel from child abuse defense lawyers.
Curry's husband, Charles Airy, has been locked up in Vacaville on a life sentence since 2001 for drug possession. His previous two strikes were for nonviolent burglaries back in the 1960s and 70s, she said.
She's not the only one who envisions a new life for her family. Alberta Manzanares' brother has served 17 years of a life sentence for stealing a credit card in Santa Clara County. His previous strikes also were burglaries, she said.
Work begins
But just how fast lifers get a resentencing hearing before a judge -- and if they get out early at all -- is likely to depend on where they were convicted. The movement on cases might go more slowly in conservative places like the Central Valley, while in relatively liberal Los Angeles County and the Bay Area, things might move along more efficiently.
Jeff Adachi, San Francisco's public defender and a spokesman for the California Public Defenders Association, estimated it will take six months to a year in most counties.
In contrast, Santa Clara County is nearly ready. The county's acting public defender, Molly O'Neal, has already drawn up a list of 127 three-strikers who may be eligible to apply for a shorter sentence or early release.
O'Neal hopes they can begin getting people out before the end of the year.
The process will be much quicker in Santa Clara County because District Attorney Jeff Rosen promised well before the election that he would seek shorter terms or outright release for at least some three-strikers even if Proposition 36 lost. His office has already done much of the necessary research, cutting down on the need for lengthy court hearings in cases where he and O'Neal agree on a solution.
Volunteer lawyer
O'Neal said a Stanford law school graduate who worked on the university's Three Strikes Project is helping with the effort for free. The director of the project, law school Professor Michael Romano, co-authored Proposition 36.
Before public defenders can pursue a new sentence, three-strikers must fill out application forms giving the office permission. They are available on the Santa Clara County Public Defender's website under "Three Strikes Reform Screening Packet.''
In San Mateo County, Public Defender John Digiacinto said he's already received the form back from one eager three-striker.
Digiacinto said he expects it to have a good result.
Los Angeles mother Kathy Lazenby is hoping her son gets out after 11 years, but she's trying hard not to count on it.
She said they still have a long way to go before he's out, but to him it already feels like Christmas.
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