The Influence of the Three Strikes Laws

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The Three Strikes laws is a law that was first employed in the 1990’s and was established due to the public's dissatisfaction with other laws that were not reducing crime. In 2012 legislators finally realized that the Three Strikes law was not doing what it was intended to do and revised it to impose life sentences to the most violently dangerous criminals. The law allows for a person to be sentenced to prison for 25 years to life after their third strike. Prior to 2012 all crimes committed by criminals were considered under the three strikes. It suggested that if a criminal had two strikes and committed a minor crime they would receive the same punishment for the petty offense as the person accused of a major crime? For many years this is exactly what happened. California’s Three Strikes law had allowed no room for error to any criminal activity for repeat offenders. Once an individual had committed three serious crimes they are then sentenced to twenty five years to life in prison. At first society and government officials respond positively due to the getting tough on crime policy but did this law really keeping the public safe by locking up all those petty criminal offenders, or are we just spending billions of tax payers dollars on the prison system. What does it mean to be for or against it, should this apply to everyone in all criminal situations given the fact that some are minor verses major violent crimes? In a study by Kovandzic found, first, that Three Strikes laws are positively associated with homicide rates in cities in three strikes states and, second, that cities in Three Strikes states witnessed no significant reduction in crime rates. Kovandzic, et al. 2004. What Kovandzic is indicating is that criminals ...

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...525/fsr.2010.22.3.171

Stephen, A. (2002). In California, a man stole a few kids' videotapes from his local Kmart. Now the us supreme court will decide if he must stay in prison for 50 years. New Statesman, 131 (4587), 10.

Vitiello, M. (1997). Three strikes: Can we return to rationality? Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 87 (2), 395. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/218439889?accountid=10358
“The Deterrent Effect of Three Strikes Laws” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin April 1999
Walsh, C. J. (2011). OUT OF THE STRIKE ZONE: WHY GRAHAM V. FLORIDA MAKES IT UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO USE JUVENILE-AGE CONVICTIONS AS STRIKES TO MANDATE LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE UNDER § 841 (b) (1) (A). American University Law Review, 61 (1), 165-204. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/905187795?accountid=10358

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