Washington's "Persistent Offenders Accountability Act" was enacted after the passage of Initiative 593 in 1993. It is often referred to as the "3-Strikes" law. Washington was the first state in the nation to pass a 3-Strikes law.

SIGNATORIES American Civil Liberties Union of Washington American Friends Service Committee (Quakers, USA) Amnesty International Group 492 Everett, WA A. Philip Randolph Institute - Seattle Chapter Black Policy Foundation Black Prisoners Caucus Center for Social Justice Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites Church Council of Greater Seattle Concerned Lifers Organization First African Methodist Episcopal Church - Seattle Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy (Quakers, Washington) Justice Works! King County Kinship Collaboration League of Women Voters of Washington Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington State Minority Executive Director's Coalition of King County NAACP - Alaska, Oregon and Washington State - Area Conference National Alliance on Mental Illness - Greater Seattle Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane Real Change Seattle Fellowship of Reconciliation Seattle - Martin Luther King Jr. County NAACP Seattle University School of Law Criminal Justice Society SEIU Healthcare 775NW Statewide Poverty Action Network S.T.E.P.S.: Steps to Ethically Profiling Stability The Birth Attendants: Prison Doula Project United Black Christian Clergy Association of Washington State Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Washington Christian Leaders Coalition Washington Defender Association Washington State Unitarian Universalist Voices for Justice Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation         WHEREAS approximately 73% of the convictions under Washington's 3-Strikes law are for crimes in the mid to low range of Washington's criminal seriousness scale at RCW 9.94A.515 (1); WHEREAS Robbery 2, the most common 3-Strikes conviction, and Assault 2, another common 3-Strikes crime, are classified in the least serious quarter of criminal offenses at RCW 9.94A.515, carrying standard sentences of 3 months to 7 years; WHEREAS Washington's 3-Strikes population is approximately 40% African American in comparison with a state population that is less than 4% African American; (1) WHEREAS Washington's Sentencing Guidelines Commission recommended in 2001 removing Robbery 2 from the 3-Strikes list and examining under what circumstances, if any, should Assault 2 be treated as a strike, as the range of behaviors associated with Robbery 2 and, "probably" some instances of Assault 2 do not rise to the level of most serious offenses and that, specifically, in the case of Robbery 2, these behaviors pose "little risk of physical injury"; (2) WHEREAS bills responding to the recommendations of the Sentencing Guidelines Commission have been in the state legislature since 2001; THEREFORE we call for reform or repeal of Washington's 3-Strikes law.

NOTES Persistent Offenders, Through June 2008, State of Washington, Sentencing Guidelines Commission. Sentencing Reform Act Review, 2000/2001, State of Washington, Sentencing Guidelines Commission.   The organizations listed on this page support the statement on this page. The content on other pages of the Fix Washington's 3-Strikes Law site has not been reviewed by each of these organizations and is provided for informational purposes only. Contact: info@fix3strikes.org. For an update on 2011/2012 legislation, see the legislation page.