The Legacy: Murder & Media,
Politics & Prisons

Continued... page 3 of 3

Judge Cordell: "A fair system of justice, one that works, one which has to take into consideration the individual that is before the court for sentencing as well as the victims as well as the overall protection of the public. A system which fails to do that, which fails to look at that particular individual who is standing before me to be punished is a system that in my opinion fails everybody. And indeed if we have such a system we don't need judges. We don't need us at all. Because that's a system that's subject completely to computerization. Just plug in a number, send the person away."

Violent crime in California declined 15% in the years after 3-Strikes became law. Violent crime in states without 3-Strikes laws declined by comparable amounts during the same period, with some states experiencing greater declines in violent crime than California. By June, 1998, 1 in 5 California inmates were sentenced under the 3-Strikes law. 90% of those sentenced had only one prior "strike" and were sentenced for non-violent crimes in 80% of the cases.

By the time I finished watching "The Legacy" I was filled with dread. Thanks to 3-Strikes, California seems to be turning into one big prison. Have you ever seen Escape From L.A.? The story goes like this, in the future, an earthquake separates Los Angeles from the mainland. In the New Moral America, all citizens not conforming to the new laws (no smoking, no red meat, no Muslims in South Dakota) are deported to L.A., now a penal colony. I wonder if this is slowly beginning to happen for real.

I once read a magnificent book by Arthur Herzog titled, "I.Q. 83." (As of 2/18/98, IQ 83 is currently under option to Dreamworks. They've signed Barry Levinson to produce and direct.) The story is about a scientist that develops a highly-contagious virus that reduces people's intelligence and his race against time to develop an antidote, even as his own IQ drops. There are zillions of car crashes in the streets since people can't mentally fathom driving cars anymore. The president sits drooling during a State of the Union speech broadcast.

Why aren't the lawmakers as clear-minded and evolved as Marc and Joe Klaas, Jeff Young, Vince Schiraldi and Judge Cordell? I sleep better at night knowing that people like them are out there. Joe Klaas is a hero to me. Even in the face of losing his precious granddaughter, he dared to see the injustice of the 3-Strikes law through his own rage.