On July 9, 1996, Pam Martinez was sentenced to 25 years to life under California’s three strikes law. She was convicted of petty theft with a prior after stealing a used toolbox worth $30.

In July 1999, Pam's conviction was reversed because of ineffective counsel and her sentence vacated. Charges were reinstated, and a new trial was ordered. A Superior Court judge struck a prior strike resulting from a 1978 plea bargain and offered a sentence of nine years for the toolbox theft. Not willing to risk another sentence of 25 to life, Martinez accepted the plea bargain.

The CA Appellate Court ordered that the three years already served under the 1996 invalid conviction should be calculated as pre-trial credit rather than post-trial credit, and Pam was released after serving from February 11, 1995 to Oct 24, 2001, a total of seven years. Having paid a heavy debt for a $30 theft, Pam began to rebuild her life.

And that’s where the story could have ended, but it didn’t. The Attorney General’s Office was not happy with Pam's release and appealed to the California Supreme Court, claiming that the three years she served before her retrial should have been considered post-trial credits. Calculated in that manner, the CA Supreme Court agreed that Martinez still owed the California Department of Corrections sixty-five days of incarceration.

She has been ordered to turn herself in to the CDC on Tuesday, March 30th to begin serving the additional days.

"I feel that I’ve paid my debt. Seven years for petty theft of a used tool box, a toolbox which I thought belonged to my late husband. Yes, it was a bad situation, and I regret what happened, but I’ve done my time. The California Court of Appeals released me. Why does the state want 65 more days from me?"

Martinez has resigned her position at the East Escondido Home Depot where she worked for eleven months. Just one month shy of her one-year anniversary on the job, Martinez has lost the opportunity for full health benefits, a leave of absence and a raise in pay.

" I’m just devastated to lose this job. I've made so many good friends, and I'm proud of the service I give to my customers," says Martinez. "I was so excited about the health benefits, actually receiving health benefits. That’s something I haven’t had in a long while."

Pamela will spend the next week packing and moving her belongings into storage at a friend’s house. She is turning off her phone service, and looking for a place to store her car.

"How am I going to pay my car insurance? That’s one of my biggest concerns, says Pamela. "When I get out in 65 days, I won’t have a job. I will have had no money coming in for over two months. I need my car to look for a new job. No insurance, no car. No car, no job. Oh, it’s going to be a struggle."

Martinez has asked Governor Schwarzenegger to grant her clemency. Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg D-Los Angeles, has championed Martinez’ cause and submitted the request to the Governor on her behalf, saying "How it makes the state safer for her to go back to prison for 65 days is beyond me."

Citizens throughout the state have been faxing the Governor’s office requesting that he grant clemency.

" I just don’t understand how this benefits the citizens of California," says Barbara Holdren, Pam’s coworker. I thought we were having a budget crisis. I just hope Governor Schwarzenegger does the right thing and grants clemency. To force her to return to the streets, homeless and unemployed would just be adding insult to injury."

Supporters will hold a press conference and rally in front of the Governor’s Los Angeles office at 300 S. Spring Street on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 from 3pm – 6pm