My name is Jason, and I’m part of the Civic Engagement Team at Change.org. Our mission is to connect petition supporters with decision makers and to help foster healthy civic engagement in our communities.

Below is the reply we received to our outreach:

“The Rules of Professional Conduct appropriately limit prosecutorial comment regarding pending criminal cases.

With regard to Washington State's Three Strikes law, it is a statutory-based legal construct that is part of the Persistent Offender Accountability Act. Under this law, individuals convicted of three qualifying felonies, classified as "most serious offenses," face a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Upon receiving a third strike most serious offense conviction, the sentencing court has no discretion and must impose a life sentence without parole. Absent a third strike, repeat offenders are sentenced in accordance with the Sentencing Reform Act.

The Sentencing Reform Act in Washington State was codified to ensure that the punishment for adult felony offenders is proportionate to the seriousness of the offense and the offender's criminal history. The act installed a structured adult felony sentencing grid that ranks felonies in seriousness from First Degree Aggravated Murder to Unlawful Issuance of a Bank Check. The Act and the sentencing grid provide a uniform approach to sentencing that standardizes, but does not eliminate, discretionary decisions affecting sentences.

With every conviction, and every sentencing recommendation we make to the court, our office seeks to maximize both community safety and accountability for the underlying criminal conduct. Ultimately, it is the sentencing judge who determines the actual sentence to be imposed.”

— Michael C. Held, Chief of Staff, Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office