SAN JOSE, Calif. — There is a growing pile of books in Matthew Hahn's cell at Elmwood Correctional complex in Milpitas, Calif. Among Plato dialogues, the Tao Te Ching and "Law for Dummies" is a paperback titled "Martyrs" — a collection of stories about Christians who sacrificed their lives for their faith.
It was a present from the mother of a young girl, in gratitude for helping bring the girl's molester to justice.
Last year, Hahn, a 26-year-old Los Gatos, Calif., felon with a rap sheet full of residential burglaries, anonymously sent police some stolen photographs — photos that showed a man molesting a toddler. Using the photographs, police found and arrested John Robertson "Robbie" Aitken. Last month, Aitken pleaded no contest to molestation charges and received a 30-year sentence.
But Hahn, who was later arrested for a burglary spree after he turned in the photos, is facing a prison term that could be longer than Aitken's. The latest series of burglaries was Hahn's "third strike," and prosecutors have decided to seek a life sentence. His trial could begin this month.
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The conundrum of weighing Hahn's crimes against his good deed has people across the country debating whether he deserves leniency. There have been blog polls, raving CNN hosts, e-mails from Sweden, editorials in Jackson, Miss., radio shows in Canada, and three petition drives calling for leniency.
"Matt is not a career criminal," said Allen Schwartz, Hahn's attorney. "He has a terrible, terrible record. He is a thief and he is a drug addict. All of his previous crimes were from one crime spree. And after he went through the drug rehab, he got caught up again and he is doing it again. What will it take to get this guy's attention? I don't know. But I don't think we should throw this guy on the garbage pile of life."
Assistant District Attorney Dave Tomkins is the senior member of the panel that decides how to charge potential three strikes cases.
He said that when the panel made the decision on Hahn's burglary case, it knew about his pivotal role in Aitken's arrest. That was one of the reasons he didn't charge Hahn with the specific burglary of the safe that contained the damning photographs.
But the panel also saw a record of crimes that, while not violent, had the potential to be if anyone caught him in the act.
"We see someone with a bunch of residential burglaries and his current case is a bunch of residential burglaries," Tomkins said. "This guy is a career burglar. In my experience, if you take residential burglars off the street, you are cutting the crime rate dramatically.
"But this isn't science. We try to consider everything."
Hahn's supporters say the district attorney's office should be more lenient.
Both the mother of the victim and Aitken's prosecutor Dana Overstreet — a deputy district attorney in Santa Clara County — have said they would be willing to testify on Hahn's behalf.
