Summary
It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Gary from Chicago.
On Valentine’s Day, Gary Alan Coe was resentenced after being locked up for 20 years under California’s three-strikes law, which carried a mandatory life term following a third conviction.
…
“There are tremendous stories of people like Gary, reuniting with their families and their communities and getting back to work and paying taxes and safely rejoining society,” Michael Romano, director of the Three Strikes Project, said Wednesday.
…
“The reactions of people who are offended by Gary’s presence at the Oscars, first of all, don’t reflect the overwhelming support from California voters who passed these reforms, don’t reflect the judgment of the court that found he was no longer a threat to public safety and fly in the face of opportunities for reform, rehabilitation and redemption,” Romano said.
“The reform in California has been a tremendous success both in terms of public policy, but I also think in terms of personal redemption. On the policy level the number of people who have gone back to prison is about five times better than the average recidivism rate of people leaving prison.”
…
Romano said more than 2,000 inmates sentenced to life in prison for nonviolent crimes under California’s three strikes law have been released since 2012.
“Both from a policy level and a personal level and what little we know about Gary … his personality showed, I hope, a glimpse that there is redemption and grace and an opportunity for rehabilitation,” Romano said.
“I really do hope all the best for him. It must have been unbelievably overwhelming for him to hook on from … serving a life sentence to have gotten this news from the court and then to be plucked off the street and thrown into this (Oscars) stunt.”
Read More