People v. Gaston

Opinion

EPSTEIN, Acting P. J.

Respondent Keith Ellis Gaston was convicted and sentenced under the “Three Strikes” initiative statute, Penal Code section 1170.12, 1 a measure adopted at the November 1994 General Election as Proposition 184. The ballot pamphlet argument in favor of the proposition urged its adoption, in part, to save taxpayers the costs of “running career criminals through the judicial system’s revolving door over and over again.” (Ballot Pamp., Initiative Statute with arguments to voters, Gen. Elec. (Nov. 8, 1994) p. 36.) Gaston presents one of the clearest examples of a…