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"Three Strikes" Law at the Federal Level This paper

"Three Strikes" at the Federal Level

This paper will discuss the possible effects of the proposed "three strikes" laws on the administration of criminal justice at the Federal level. Among the possible effects which will be studied are those on prison overcrowding, government finances, and conviction rates. The paper will also discuss whether these mandatory sentencing laws will have any effect on deterrence and recidivism.

During the past several years, crime has moved to the forefront of popular consciousness in the United States and the fear of crime has increased, although actual crime rates have generally decreased since the middle part of the 1980s. Among the crime "facts" which have surfaced in popular culture is the one which states that most violent crime is committed by a relatively small group of repeat offenders. These individuals are able to commit such acts because most serve only a small part of their sentences before being released. Consequently, it has become conventional wisdom that crime would be reduced substantially if those who insisted upon continuing their criminal careers were incarcerated for the rest of their lives (Economist, 1994, February 5, p. 16).

Since 1992, it has become increasingly popular to propose laws which would force judges to sentence individuals convicted of their third felony to life imprisonment. The first jurisdiction to enact such a law was the state of Washington; the largest state to enact a three strikes law was California, which did so in March of 1994 (Economist, 1994, March 19, p. 28). In the first week of March of that same year, the Clinton Administration presented a three strikes proposal to members of Congress, who immediately agreed to sponsor the proposal as a bill. Under the Administration plan, individuals convicted of three violent crimes under federal law would automatically be sentenced to life imprisonment (Cooper, 1994, March 3, p. A2).

Although ...

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"Three Strikes" Law at the Federal Level This paper. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 00:57, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1689935.html