California's attempts to revisit three strikes is important nationally because it suggests that the rule of American politics that has been a truism since 1968 - that anything that sounds tougher on crime is a political winner - may be coming less true. The public has become increasingly aware of outrageous injustices in highly publicized, heart-rending cases at the same time they feel the weight of added costs to the system. |
The price decline began in 1979 and the downward trend has been steady. |