CA Judge Reviewing Convictions Under "Three Strikes"

Voters eased the state's harsh sentencing rules

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has started the process of reviewing cases of California inmates who are serving time under the three-strikes law.

Last November, voters passed Proposition 36, which eased the state's three-strikes law and allowed certain criminals to have their time behind bars reduced if their third conviction was not serious or violent and the judge determined they wouldn't pose a threat to public safety.

Judge William C. Ryan, who was tasked with examining each convict's request for a shorter sentence, said he's received more than 1,000 petitions in less than four months.