Prosecutor explains 'three strikes' law

EPHRATA — In the Jan. 28 issue of the Columbia Basin Herald a letter to the editor was published that read “Washington incarcerates three-strikers for their entire lives without the possibility of parole ever. Some 72 percent of those serving this sentence were convicted of non-violent crimes.”

With the legislature currently in session I feel it is necessary to provide a reality check on that assertion so that the readers of this publication are properly informed about the state of our “three strike” law before calling their representatives in support of repeal. The simple fact is that in Washington the three strike law applies only to the most serious offenses.

The Washington Persistent Offender law (“three strikes”) can be found in Revised Code of Washington 9.94A.030(34). In fact, not all crimes classified as violent offenses are even included as strikes. For example, even an assault on a police officer does not count as a strike. Only the “most serious offenses” can be considered strikes under Washington law, a list of which can be found in Revised Code of Washington 9.94A.030(29). That list includes crimes like assault in the second degree (with a deadly weapon); assault of a child in the second degree; child molestation in the second degree; controlled substance homicide; kidnapping; manslaughter; rape; robbery; vehicular assault; and vehicular homicide.

Under the current state of the law in Washington a person who commits any of the above listed crimes on three separate occasions and is then convicted will be permanently removed from society. We should keep it that way.