California's "three-strikes" law should be amended so that it only applies to violent crime, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley says.

The Los Angeles Times reported March 2 that Cooley is calling on the state legislature to pass a reform bill introduced by Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles). He said that while his office and others only apply the statute to violent offenders, other jurisdictions have sent people to prison for life based on nonviolent felony offenses.

Three-strikes critics also are gathering signatures to get a reform petition on the November ballot; if Romero's bill passes, the referendum will happen automatically. 

A 2004 effort to reform the law failed when law-enforcement officials said it could lead to thousands of offenders being re-sentenced or released from prison.

The current law says that any felony can serve as the third strike, triggering a life sentence; Romero's bill would limit strikes to violent felonies only.