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January 9, 2025 54 mins
This week we take a look at one of the most infamous, horrifying cases in California history: the abduction and murder of Polly Klaas. This story takes place in 1993, when 12 year old Polly is stolen out of her own bedroom during a sleep over with two friends, while her mother and sister slept in the other room. The boldness of the abduction, along with the inability to find a single suspect for more than two months, made this case one of the most terrifying and captivating of its time. The entire nation stood by, waiting for answers, and finally, just before the new year, they got what they were waiting for when a man was finally tied to her disappearance. 

Once Polly's killer was caught, her story was used to pass multiple new laws, including California's highly debated Three Strikes and You're Out law, which was sold to frightened voters as a way to protect our children, but ended up imprisoning thousands of non violent criminals, while others continued to walk free. While Polly's father Marc was a big proponent of these laws, her two sisters, Jess and Annie, are not, and we'll talk about why, as well as how they are choosing to honor their sister's legacy in a very different way. 

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Sources: 
https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-petaluma-ca/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/polly-klaas-murder-30-years-investigators-remember-dogged/story?id=103276602
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/22/polly-klaas-sisters-criminal-justice-mass-incarceration
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ca-supreme-court/1286985.html
https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/richard-allen-davis-kidnapping-murder-polly-klaas-sleepover
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