Franklin, J. (2000).Three Strikes and You're Out of Constitutional Rights - The Prison Litigation Reform Act's Three Strikes Provision and Its Effect on Indigents, 71 U. Colo. L. Rev. 191.
This article hypothesizes that the PLRA Three Strikes provision or law goes against the equal protection element provided for in the Fifth Amendment due process clause and hence, it is constitutionally suspect.
The methods used to find information and data to support the hypothesis are qualitative whereby the researcher reviews past documents and records regarding the three strikes provision. More specifically, the author reviews past cases that are in support of the hypothesis.
From the review of the cases, the author finds out that the PLRA three strikes
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D. (2002). Three strikes and you're in (for life): An analysis of the California three strikes laws as applied to convictions for misdemeanor conduct. Thomas Jefferson Law Review, 24(2), 277-298
This article analyzes California’s Three Strikes and how it applies to petty theft cases, particularly those that have been overturned by the appeal courts, particularly the Ninth Circuit. The article hypothesizes that the legal application of California’s Three Strikes Laws to petty theft cases is an application that the voters never contemplated upon when passing the law.
The research methods used in the article is also qualitative whereby the author reviews and analyzes the California Three Strikes Law as it was passed, how the federal court takes over a state case and the application of the law in a particular case. The method used is case study.
The article found out that California’s voters were influenced by fear and politics to pass the Three Strikes law. The author also finds out that the application of the law raises questions on the proportionality in which it is applied, particularly to petty theft cases. Because of the lack of clarity in which the law can be applied, legislatures and citizens have the right to redefine the law and its
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The author has included two research questions: whether or not the original intent of the Three Strikes law is understood and whether the law has effectively reduced crime and recidivism rates.
The method used in the article is case study whereby the author focuses on the California version of the Three Strikes law. In addition, the article employs a multidisciplinary approach in analyzing the case study including history, political science and sociology.
The author found out that the California Three Strikes Law has failed to meet its initial goal of reducing the number of repeat offenders in the prison system. The article also found out that the California Three Strikes Law encourages racial disparity when it comes to sentencing offenders. This is because racial profiling forms the basis in which the criminal justice system target suspects to be incarcerated under the Three Strikes
Women convicted of “other property offenses” – a category of crimes that includes arson, receiving stolen property and breaking and entering — received shorter prison sentences. • Black female defendants were, in some ways, treated differently than white female defendants. Black women were assigned higher bond amounts and were more likely to be sent to prison than white women. Women of both races were equally likely to be released prior to
In the spring of 1994, California’s Three Strikes was signed into law. It passed with the support of 72 percent of the state’s voters. (Gladwell 236) This law became highly controversial, and on November 6, 2012, voters passed Proposition 36, which amended the law with two primary provisions. Through the controversy, we must take a minute to remember how this law came to be. Mike Reynolds lost his daughter in June of 1992 to murder.
The prosecutor has too much power and not enough knowledge when it comes to how the three-strike laws should be carried out. According to the Criminal Justice book, “ as is true nationally, African-Americans and Hispanic are disproportionately represented in the California penal system, comprising 31.3% and 34% of the inmate population respectively, compared to the general population,” (criminal justice book, pg 113). Ms. Crawford should not be discipline due to her being a poor African American woman and does not have the resources such as, Ms. Kennon
Over the past 40 years U.S. incarceration has grown at an extraordinary rate, with the United States’ prison population increasing from 320,000 inmates in 1980 to nearly 2.3 million inmates in 2013. The growth in prison population is in part due to society’s shift toward tough on crime policies including determinate sentencing, truth-in-sentencing laws, and mandatory minimums. These tough on crime policies resulted in more individuals committing less serious crimes being sentenced to serve time and longer prison sentences. The 1970s-1980s: The War on Drugs and Changes in Sentencing Policy Incarceration rates did rise above 140 persons imprisoned per 100,000 of the population until the mid 1970s.
The Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention and Protection Act (JJDPA) was established in 1974 and was the first federal law that dealt comprehensively with juvenile delinquency to improve the juvenile justice system and support state and local efforts at delinquency prevention. This paper will assess the JJDPA and summarize its purpose and implementation and enforcement. Next, there will be a discussion of the historical context of the policy; followed by a focus of the latent consequences. Finally there will be a vignette as to how this Act has affected a person or family as well as personal reflection toward the policy.
Five of prisons in Tennessee are presently over capacity with another eight currently operating over 95% of assigned capacity (Malcolm, 2014.) “When prisons become overcrowded, there is less money and manpower to provide much-needed treatment, educational, and skills-enhancement programs in prison, and inmate-to-staff ratios can grow to levels that are unsafe for prison staff and other prisoners” (Malcolm, 2014, paragraph 11.) I believe a way to fix that issue it through using different reforms to affect the overall percentage all together. These reforms include limit sentencing, more programs, more parole and probation officers, and specialized courts.
You are most definitely correct Mark. The Three-strike laws are a good way to deter crimes. As stated on the Golden Gate University Law review, the Three-strike law has had a deterrent effect because it reduces felony arrests rates among the class of criminals with 1 strike by 29 to 48 percent (Goodno, 2010, p. 469). Statistically, it seems to somewhat stop repeat offenders. Bill Veeck is known for famously saying, “If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can’t get you off” (Demakis, 2012, p. 354).
A study conducted by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services undertaking claims of sentencing disparities studies the felony sentencing outcomes particularly in New York courts between the years 1990 and 1992. Astonishingly, the study concluded that approximately one-third of minorities sentenced to prison would have received a shorter sentence with the possibility of a non-incarcerative penalty if they had been treated similarly to their white counterparts. Consequently, other sentencing data is consistent with the results of this study’s findings. On a national scale, black males specifically, who were convicted of drug felonies in state courts 52 percent of the time, while white males typically receive prison sentencing approximately 34 percent of the time. In addition, these figures are not constrained to gender given the similar ratio among black and white women as well.
Courts are a major evaluative stage of the criminal justice system and we rely on these courts to determine our outcomes based on the crime that was committed. Today, there is more diversity of leadership in the court system but, race still plays a role in the outcome of the offender. This could range from petty crimes being committed like traffic infractions or facing the death penalty based on the race of the offender or victim. This paper will examine the three types of disparities that cause biased sentencing in the courts. The three types of disparities are race, social class, and gender and these all play a huge factor when making a decision based off an offender.
Coker gives great evidence that supports racial injustice in the criminal justice system. She discusses on the Supreme Court’s rulings and accusations of racial preference in the system. This article is helpful because it supports my thesis on race playing a role on the system of criminal justice. Hurwitz, J., & Peffley, M. (1997). Public perceptions of race and crime: The role of racial stereotypes.
This paper is to help show how sometimes judges can be Bias or inherent in the amount of bail set and other restrictions for pre-trial release while showing the concept of bail what can be done to prevent arbitrary and potentially prejudiced decisions from being made in the courtroom when it comes to bail by the judge, Also discuss the pros and cons of private vs. public defense. Introduction This paper will show the pros and cons of pre-release and define pre-trail release and bond, arbitrary. bond types also look into the factors of bail amounts a judge looks at to determine how much the defendant’s bail is and a few ways to prevent arbitrary and potentially Prejudice decisions from being made in the court by judges.
The United States has a larger percent of its population incarcerated than any other country. America is responsible for a quarter of the world’s inmates, and its incarceration rate is growing exponentially. The expense generated by these overcrowded prisons cost the country a substantial amount of money every year. While people are incarcerated for several reasons, the country’s prisons are focused on punishment rather than reform, and the result is a misguided system that fails to rehabilitate criminals or discourage crime. This literature review will discuss the ineffectiveness of the United States’ criminal justice system and how mass incarceration of non-violent offenders, racial profiling, and a high rate of recidivism has become a problem.
Deterrence and the Death Penalty: The Views of the Experts. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-), 87(1), 1. doi:10.2307/1143970 This article was written by Michael L. Radelet and Ronald L. Akers. They both consulted experts on criminology and criminal behaviour to evaluate the effectiveness of the Death Penalty.
When there was a misdemeanor drug offence, black defendants were 27 percent more likely than whites to get a plea offer that included incarceration.” This shows unfairness
Through the decades, crime and crime control have been analyzed in an attempt to find the causes of crime and decide how to combat them. The United States showed an increase in their prison population in the 1970s when the country turned towards a more punitive justice system. Referred to as just deserts theory of crime, the aim is to inflict as much pain on the offender through harsh prison sentences, in hopes to cause as much pain as the crime they committed. The worse the crime is, the worse the punishment the criminal will endure. The issue surrounding just deserts theory is the vast amount of offenders who return to prison after being released, also known as the recidivism rate.