three strikes and out early
17 Aug '10 01:29http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100817/ap_on_re_us/us_food_thief_prisoner;_ylt=Ap1Ry82tHM7mJqzC9EPofqus0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFlM203b3NmBHBvcwM2OARzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX3Vfc19uZXdzBHNsawNsYWp1ZGdlZnJlZXM-
http://tinyurl.com/24g4olj
LA judge frees thief who got 25 yrs on 3rd strike
AP
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press Writer – 49 mins ago
LOS ANGELES – A judge on Monday ordered the release of a man who spent 13 years behind bars for trying to steal food from a church, his third offense under California's three-strikes law.
Tears streamed down Gregory Taylor's face when Judge Peter Espinoza amended his sentence to eight years already served. The judge asked a bailiff to get him a tissue.
He was taken back into custody and will be released when his paperwork is completed in at least two days.
Family members and supporters applauded and the 47-year-old Taylor quietly thanked the court and his lawyers for "giving me another chance ... and my family for sticking by me."
The Stanford Law Project filed a writ of habeas corpus seeking freedom for Taylor, who was sentenced in 1997 to 25 years to life under California's three-strikes law. The district attorney did not oppose the group's move.
"I thought I was going to cry too," said Stanford Law School student Reiko Rogozen, who started working on the case in January. "He was scared up until the last minute that it wasn't actually going to happen."
Taylor was arrested 13 years ago while trying to pry open a screen above the kitchen door at St. Joseph's Church in downtown Los Angeles.
He was convicted of third-strike burglary due to convictions of robbery twice in the 1980s, once for stealing a purse containing $10 and once for trying to rob a man on the street. He didn't use a weapon in either case, and no one was injured.
The Rev. Alan McCoy testified Taylor was often given food and allowed to sleep at the church. He told the court that Taylor was a peaceful man who made mistakes and was struggling with homelessness and crack addiction.
...
Taylor's attorney argued that the crime was at most misdemeanor trespassing because Taylor thought he had the right to take food, but the judge at the time refused to let him present that argument to the jury.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld that decision, questioning whether a "claim of right" defense could ever be valid and saying Taylor could not have honestly believed he had the right to break into the church. The state Supreme Court ordered the lower court to reconsider the conviction and life sentence.
...
Gabriel Martinez, a law student with the Stanford Three-Strikes Project, said his classmates have identified 400 cases in which defendants received harsh sentences across the state.
The Stanford Three Strikes Project recently lost two cases — one for a man who stole a pair of socks and another for a man convicted of having 0.1 grams of methamphetamine, Martinez said.
...
http://tinyurl.com/24g4olj
LA judge frees thief who got 25 yrs on 3rd strike
AP
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press Writer – 49 mins ago
LOS ANGELES – A judge on Monday ordered the release of a man who spent 13 years behind bars for trying to steal food from a church, his third offense under California's three-strikes law.
Tears streamed down Gregory Taylor's face when Judge Peter Espinoza amended his sentence to eight years already served. The judge asked a bailiff to get him a tissue.
He was taken back into custody and will be released when his paperwork is completed in at least two days.
Family members and supporters applauded and the 47-year-old Taylor quietly thanked the court and his lawyers for "giving me another chance ... and my family for sticking by me."
The Stanford Law Project filed a writ of habeas corpus seeking freedom for Taylor, who was sentenced in 1997 to 25 years to life under California's three-strikes law. The district attorney did not oppose the group's move.
"I thought I was going to cry too," said Stanford Law School student Reiko Rogozen, who started working on the case in January. "He was scared up until the last minute that it wasn't actually going to happen."
Taylor was arrested 13 years ago while trying to pry open a screen above the kitchen door at St. Joseph's Church in downtown Los Angeles.
He was convicted of third-strike burglary due to convictions of robbery twice in the 1980s, once for stealing a purse containing $10 and once for trying to rob a man on the street. He didn't use a weapon in either case, and no one was injured.
The Rev. Alan McCoy testified Taylor was often given food and allowed to sleep at the church. He told the court that Taylor was a peaceful man who made mistakes and was struggling with homelessness and crack addiction.
...
Taylor's attorney argued that the crime was at most misdemeanor trespassing because Taylor thought he had the right to take food, but the judge at the time refused to let him present that argument to the jury.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld that decision, questioning whether a "claim of right" defense could ever be valid and saying Taylor could not have honestly believed he had the right to break into the church. The state Supreme Court ordered the lower court to reconsider the conviction and life sentence.
...
Gabriel Martinez, a law student with the Stanford Three-Strikes Project, said his classmates have identified 400 cases in which defendants received harsh sentences across the state.
The Stanford Three Strikes Project recently lost two cases — one for a man who stole a pair of socks and another for a man convicted of having 0.1 grams of methamphetamine, Martinez said.
...
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