There's another initiative that's out to be "son of three strikes" that hands out mandatory sentences to "gang members". That is, if someone is identified as one, they'll get different sentencing. This will have severe implications for Black and Brown people, because they are far more likely to be identified as gangsters or "gang affiliated" (meaning that they might be gangsters if the cops think you're one).

It would deprive defendants of full legal rights. It would fund an expansion of the prison and juvie system, without a single penny to social programs that help to put kids on the right path away from gangs. This is another step toward re-enslavement through the prison-industrial complex. Article and link follow.

----------------------------

Conservatives are gearing up around the state to gather signatures for a ballot initiative which is being labeled “The Son of Three Strikes.” It’s an anti-crime initiative called the “Safe Neighborhoods Act,” and is championed by state Sen. George Runner, and his wife, Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, a Republican couple from Lancaster, home of the Southland’s ongoing racial strife. State Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, says this ballot measure is “racially loaded” and he has vowed to vigorously oppose the measure, even before its signature-gathering phase gets under way. The Runners introduced the measure at a news conference last month and their supporters are preparing to fan out and collect at least valid 433,000 signatures on petitions to qualify it for the November 2008 ballot.

Click for the entire story:

http://www.wavenewspapers.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=73&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=6518&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reopt