cannabisnews.com: Florida House Passes Bills To Restore Three Strike Florida House Passes Bills To Restore Three Strike Posted by FoM on February 05, 2002 at 16:55:03 PT By David Royse, Associated Press Source: South Florida Sun Sentinel The state House passed five bills Tuesday to restore the ``Three Strikes'' get-tough-on-crime law, a 1999 measure thrown out last month by a judge on a technicality. A state appeals court said the measure requiring minimum prison terms for violent and repeat criminals violated a requirement that laws only deal with one subject. The original bill included five measures stiffening sentences for habitual criminals, marijuana traffickers, sex offenders and those who assault the elderly and police. The one that gave the bill its name requires judges to give the maximum sentence to people who commit their third violent crime.So the House split the issue into five bills, and passed each of them overwhelmingly.``This law is extremely tough on violent criminals,'' said Rep. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey. ``Three strikes was a nail in the coffin for Florida's revolving prison door.''The original measure was pushed hard by Gov. Jeb Bush, who campaigned in 1998 on getting tough on criminals. Fasano said that along with another get-tough-on-crime law requiring longer sentences for criminals who use guns, the bills were partly responsible for reducing Florida's crime rate.Opponents of the measures argue that in the 2½ years the law has been in effect, only a few people have been sentenced under the Three Strikes provision.All five bills now go to the Senate.Many black lawmakers opposed the measure in 1999, saying it disproportionately hurts minorities. Several of them voted against the bills again Tuesday.``This is bumper sticker politics to be able to say you're tough on crime,'' said Rep. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale.He argued judges are free to give repeat offenders the maximum sentence even without the law.But supporters say too many criminals got short sentences.``What we're trying to do here is to make sure that the three-time loser ... goes to jail for a long time,'' said Fasano.Bush has said he hopes the re-enactment of the legislation would be the first bill to arrive at his desk this year.The Three Strikes portion of the law was put into its own bill (HB 1397), which passed 102-11.Under the bill, judges must give defendants the maximum sentence for a third felony. For example, the top penalty for armed robbery is life in prison, so a ``three-strike'' offender would have to get life.Another bill (HB 1393) restored the three-year minimum sentence for aggravated assault or battery of someone 65-years-old or older. It passed 104-13.A third bill (HB 1401) makes possession of 25 pounds of marijuana _ instead of the current minimum of 50 pounds _ enough to charge someone with trafficking. It passed 107-9.A fourth measure (HB 1395) re-enacts the three-year mandatory sentence for assaulting a police officer, five years for battery of a police officer. It passed 106-11.The fifth bill (HB 1399), enhancing penalties for repeat sexual batterers, passed 101-12. Complete Title: Florida House Passes Bills To Restore Get-Tough Three Strikes LawSource: South Florida Sun Sentinel (FL)Author: David Royse, Associated PressPublished: February 5, 2002Copyright: 2002 Sun-Sentinel Co & South Florida Interactive, IncContact: letters sun-sentinel.com Website: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ Related Articles:Jeb Bush Urged To Reconsider Drug Law View http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11893.shtmlNoelle Bush Needs Help, As All Addicts Dohttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11892.shtmlPerhaps Daughters Arrest Will Trigger New Thinkinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11885.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by MikeEEEEE on February 05, 2002 at 21:14:44 PT What comes around goes around 3 strikes: If they're not careful this might affect Jeb Bush's daughter later in life. Bad laws affect everybody. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment