New sentences coming for 3rd-strikers convicted of burglary

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Dozens of third-strike prisoners serving life without parole after a second-degree burglary conviction are entitled to new sentencing hearings under a bill signed by Gov. Jay Inslee.

Second-degree burglary used to be considered one of Washington’s most serious offenses, a conviction of which led to one of three “strikes” that lead to persistent offenders being sentenced to life without parole.

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The crime typically doesn’t involve a weapon or injury, and lawmakers in 2019 removed it as a most serious offense as they reconsidered the tough-on-crime policies of the past.

At the time, however, lawmakers declined to allow the 64 people already serving life without parole after a second-degree robbery conviction to be resentenced.

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