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Three Strikes Law Advantages

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For the following CRJ 11 research paper, I will be discussing the three
Strikes laws, the Ewing v. California case as it pertains to the three strikes law.
Next, a few thoughts on the disadvantages and advantages of the Law, I will be also answering the question if the three strike law policies are unfair. I will conclude with thoughts on how mass incarceration can be cost effective on the taxpayers and communities. As well, other alternatives for adjudication which might include using the income on more productive means in the community to lower the crime rate.

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California's Three Strikes sentencing law was originally enacted in 1994. The essence of the Three Strikes law was to require a defendant convicted of any new felony, …show more content…

There’s advantages and disadvantages to the Three Strike system. First advantage of the three strikes law is that it gives convicted felons a limited number of chances, usually three, in efforts to change them and make them able to live in a civilized society. It gives those people who commit crimes the opportunity to change their ways of living and provide guidance to becoming a civilized person who abide by the laws that are set in the society. Another advantage of the three strikes law is that it helps to fix the criminal justice system so convicted felons who choose to continue committing crime will stay in prison. Most crimes are committed by repeat offenders, one reason this could be is that it is the way of life for most. The streets and committing crimes is all they know and have grown used to. Another advantage is that the law can deter offenders who have already had two felonies from committing another crime. This is where the rehabilitation comes in place. The three strikes law seems to assist with steering offenders away from committing further crimes because following the second conviction there may be a reminder of what will happen if the felon commits another criminal act his or her freedom will be taken away and will receive a prison sentence of a mandatory twenty-five years, or worst, a life sentence. The thought of serving a life sentence may be the reason that some change their lifestyle and stop committing crimes. Theirs also disadvantage to the law first it gives the potential risks of more crimes to being committed. Already convicted felons are given the chance to commit more crimes, even though this is not what the law was intended for but the opportunity is there and present. Civilians are being placed in greater risk of being targeted by the same offenders that rather continue to commit crimes. Murderers are given another chance to murder again,

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Eddie Griffin was released under Proposition 36. For instance, from a young Griffin has been introduced to alcohol and drugs and was dependent on it since drugs and alcohol can become very addicting and he was later,convicted because of possession of crack cocaine. After 13 years in prison he reformed himself went to rehab and became a model inmate. He now lives a clean life and supports other three strikes in a peer support group called “Hope for Strikes”. Charles Ramirez was arrested under the three strike law for stealing a car radio and was sentenced to life.

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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.

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Any felony classified by the California law warrants a third strike. According to (Coker and Wiesberg, 2012), only 3.1 % of the third-strike inmates were incarcerated for first-degree murder while 1.7% of the inmates were incarcerated for rape. A majority of the inmates incarcerated through the third strike were property or drug crimes. However, there have been cases where petty offenders such as pick picketers sentenced to a life imprisonment under the three-strike law.

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In 1993, twenty three states and the federal government adopted some form of the three strike law intending to target repeat offenders. The State of Washington was the first to do so; the State of California soon followed with a considerably broader version of the law. Even though, adopted versions of the three strike law vary among the states, the laws generally reduced judicial discretion by mandating severe prison sentences for third (in some instances first and second) felony convictions. 1993 was unquestionably the peak of public concern about crime and the peak of the political response to that concern, resulting in what was a unique punitive period in American history. America’s incarceration rate increase more during the 1990s than

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Under the law of three strikes, which was implemented in some states of United States, a convict was awarded minimum 25 years to life if he was three time repeat offenders with multiple prior serious or violent felony convictions. California was the first state to implements this law where several high profile murders committed by felons. Residents were worried that these serial criminal would be released from the prison only to commit new, often serious and violent

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The maximum length is set by legislators and the judge imposes the length of the sentence up to the maximum. Mandatory sentences are set by legislators instead of judges. Mandatory sentences set a penalty for certain crimes that is the standard for all offenders convicted of that crime. I do not believe three-strike laws should be implemented across

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He would steal to get the money for his drug habit. Mr. Anderson’s third strike was for purse snatching. Because of his two previous convictions, Mr. Anderson was sentenced under the Third Strike law to send a minimum of 25 years in prison. He served 12 years of that sentence (The Return,

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(Banks, 2017). Three Strikes Law In California I. INTRODUCTION “California's Three Strikes sentencing law was originally enacted in 1994. The Legislature’s version of the law was created by amending

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These programs are cheaper than incarceration, and they can require the convict to pay part of the cost such as the substance abuse treatment. Convicts can continue working and caring for their families, which is very important. Prison space for violent criminals is freed up by keeping nonviolent and first time offenders in the community. The purpose for intermediate sanctions are used as another method of punishment to lower the pressure on probation departments and correction facilities.

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In 2009, California was ordered by a federal court to reduce their overcrowded prison population by 138 percent. The state had a massive incarceration rate during the “tough on crime” era (Alternative to Incarceration in California, 2015). In 1994, California had enacted a Three Strike Law. This law allows for offenders who have been convicted of a serious felony to be sentence to a prison term twice as long if they had a prior conviction. If they had two or more prior convictions then they would be mandated to a sentence of 25 years to life (California Courts,

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In today’s society people are going to jail for committing minor felonies such as possession of a small amount of drugs, shoplifting a two dollar pair of socks, breaking into a soup kitchen for food, writing a bad check for $146, and stealing a slice of pepperoni pizza. Why are these people going to jail for these minor felonies you might ask? The answer is simple; it’s due to the “Three Strike Laws.” You might be asking yourself what are Three Strike Laws, in Criminal Justice the Three Strike Laws are defined as laws enacted by state governments which mandate courts to impose harsher sentences on those convicted of an offense if they have been previously convicted of two prior serious criminal offenses.

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There are many pros and cons resulting of this law. Some pros of the law is that it ends sentence disparity. Sentence disparity is when offenders are charged with the same crime and have similar arrest records but end up getting very different sentences. This is not only fair for all the offenders but also does not allow offender to get away with doing the minimum time allowed for the crime committed. Another pro is that it allows for easy crime control, what this means is

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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.

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1678 Words | 7 Pages

However, crimes are committed whilst in prison, such as drugs and assaults. Some critics say the ‘three strikes and you are out’ law where repeat offenders get a longer sentence are wrong, as the third strike could be a lesser crime such as public disorder. Nevertheless, if just incapacitation and no rehabilitation some critics say will be costlier to society as they will go out and reoffend and, they are not employed and pay taxes. Rehabilitation is also a punishment which should improve the offender's behaviour and stop them committing crimes. Advocates of rehabilitation state prison does not work; however, critics of rehabilitation state prison does work as the criminal cannot commit a crime against the public while incarcerated (Cavadino, 2007 p 36/56).

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There is a worldwide trend in the use of penal imprisonment for serious offenses as capital punishment has been renounced by an increasing number of countries. Harsh punishments include capital punishment, life imprisonment and long-term incarceration. These forms of punishments are usually used against serious crimes that are seen as unethical, such as murder, assault and robbery. Many people believe that harsher punishments are more effective as they deter would-be criminals and ensure justice is served. Opposition towards harsh punishments have argued that harsher punishments does not necessarily increase effectiveness because they do not have a deterrent effect, do not decrease recidivism rates and do not provide rehabilitation.

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