Legacy of the Three Strikes Law
A long history of high crime rates in the United States led to the enactment of a number of versions of the three strikes law in various states. It all began with Washington’s Initiative 593, which was passed in 1993, establishing that criminals convicted of felonies or, as it stated, “more serious offenses,” for the third time would receive life in prison without parole. California followed suit the next year with Proposition 184, with a very similar concept. Over the next few years many other states created and passed their own version of the law and now a total of 24 states have three strike laws on their books.The ideology behind this legislation is that repeat offenders should not be allowed to continue roaming the street committing future crimes. There is also a goal to deter criminals from further offenses knowing that the consequences will be great.Even though it wasn’t the first to pass one of these laws, California has one of the strictest forms of this legislation and received a great deal of attention for their version. Many critics accuse the law of imposing unjust sentences on petty crimes. This law even resulted in a Supreme Court case, Ewing v. California, where it was determined the law was constitutional and did not violate any rights. Some suggest that distinct conclusions about the effect of the law can’t be determined because California crime rates were already beginning to decline when the law was passed. However, the trend certainly continued with significant drops up until the late ’90s when a slight increase occurred. Another question raised by this law is the effects of overcrowding on the system. The number of inmates in California prisons significantly increased during the first 7 years after the passing of the law and has since leveled out, but there are lasting strains on the prison system as a result.