Violent Felonies: The Three-Strike Law

The 3 Strikes Crime Law is one of the nation’s harshest sentencing laws. Are you aware that even non-violent criminals are sentenced to life in prison under the 3 Strikes Crime Law? More than 4,000 non-violent criminals are currently serving life in sentence in prison in California alone. (Vega & Galloway, 2012). If you take these outrageous numbers and add them to the rest of the nations non-violent criminal statistics the numbers are shocking. The 3 Strikes Crime Law is a violation of the 8th Amendment, as the maximum penalty for non-violent offenders is severe, unjust, and

Richard Allen Davis was on parole during this time and had long history of violent crimes. This incident helped in making Mr. Reynolds’ point that most people who are committing these crimes have already had previous experience with committing violent crimes, and they are getting out of prison and are repeating the similar violent crimes without receiving harsher sanctions (Walter & Downs, 1994). Reynolds, a hurting father and a famous photographer, petitioned the legislation in coming up with the “Three Strike and You’re Out” policy. Reynolds campaigned that offenders who commit three violent crimes should receive a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. In 1993, Washington, then California, became the first states to add the three strikes statute to their books. In January 1994, during President Clinton’s State of the Union Address, he requested for the enactment of a federal three strikes law (Austin et al., 2000). However, by 1997, 24 other states and the federal government enacted three strikes policies (Austin et al., 2000).

California which has arguably been a major proponent for the wide spread use of three strikes sentencing, has recently begun to reconsiders its use. As the law is written in California any person convicted of a third felony offense will receive twenty five years to life in prison, even if the third felony is for a non-serious non-violent crime. In 2012 69 percent of Californians voted to reform the three strikes policy, now only those who are convicted of a third felony offense for serious or violent crime will be subject to the twenty five to life prison sentence. This new law also allows those that are currently in prison due to a previous third strike conviction that was of a non-serious or violent nature to petition the court for resentencing, which could mean that they are released from prison since most of these inmates have already served nineteen years of their prison sentence (2 Laird 1)

On an everyday basis, how is the three strikes law affecting people in New Mexico? The three strikes law is one of the most modernized laws in the criminal justice system of the United States, where it has been created in the efforts to reduce and prevent crimes in the states especially for required sentencing laws for repeat criminal offenders. In 2003, more than half of the United States had adopted the three strikes law; in addition, the law is raised when criminals have committed their third felonies. Therefore, these laws execute a harsher penalty of a minimum of 25 years of a life sentence for criminals who have committed a crime for the third time even though their crimes that are not evil. There were many arguments raised when many of the criminals were sent to prison for 25 years for a very small crime such as petty theft. Many of the people in the United States argued that a 25 year prison is very similar to the punishment for committing murder. In 2013, according to The Washington Times Newspaper by associated press, Santa Fe, N.M. (AP) house majority leader Nate Gentry argues that “New Mexico is the second most dangerous state in the nation as far as violent crime goes” (press). This is the result based on the 24/7 Wall Street data; therefore, Gentry also said that it is one of the most dangerous place to be a child because many children are getting affected by the crimes they are seeing from their perspective. For the last few years, three strikes law has

Washington state passed the three strikes law policy first in 1993. Any individual convicted of three separate violent felonies was to be sentenced to life in prison with no opportunity for Parole. In 1994, The state of California followed by enforcing a three strikes law that required a minimum sentence of 25 years to life for a third felony conviction. Washington and California differed in the interpretation of felonies the California law considered nonviolent felonies, such as theft and burglary as a "strike" offenses. By 2001 California had over 50,000 criminals sentenced under the new “ Three Strokes Policy” more than any other state in the United States.

In March 1994, California voted to pass the Three Strikes Law with the majority of the vote, a bill that had been struck down multiple times by the state legislature (Naomi Harlin Goodno). This law would allow criminals with two prior felonies on their records to receive life in prison. These laws were proposed to keep serious repeat offenders off the streets, this was a result of the rising crime rate of the nineties. The law was presented to the electorate as a way to keep rapists, child molesters and killers of the streets, the most incorrigible of inmates; however, it has been proven that such laws unproportionally target minorities and persons with mental illnesses. African Americans are incarcerated at a rate thirteen times higher than

The Three Strikes Law has been a subject of much debate since its introduction as a regulation in 1993. The Three Strikes law was enacted in 1994 and is widely recognized as the harshest sentencing law in the United States. “The State of Texas was the first State to enact such a law in 1974.” (Laws.com) California passed its own law enacting a Three Strikes Law that mandates a sentence of 25 years to life for a third felony conviction. The reality of the Three Strikes Law will lead to a significant increase in the nation's

In the article Three Strikes Burglar a Step Closer to Release a man named Dale Curtis Gaines has served 15 years in prison “after processing stolen computer equipment” (Payne, 2013). Due to Proposition 36, an amendment that makes criminals eligible to be released if their third crime was neither violent nor serious, Gaines is seeking release and prosecutors agreed on his qualification. Gaines must be able to prove that he is not a danger to society in order to be released. If released Gaines would be the second “three-striker” (Payne, 2013) freed.

. I do not think, so I need to change anything in my current problem from the HCP to AP. My current problem is that for the last few years, three strikes law has enormously increased more crimes in New Mexico. A main reason there is an increase in New Mexico is because in New Mexico the three strikes law is mainly only applied for 5 specific crimes such as kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, shooting, and criminal sexual penetration. Moreover, there is debate going on in New Mexico that the crime rate is rising very rapidly to increase that New Mexico government need to toughen the three strikes law. Governor Martinez is arguing that the three strikes law is very weak that is no narrow that no inmate is currently serving a life sentence under it. There are many criminals out there on the streets of New Mexico who keep crimes but there is no one to stop them because most of the crimes in New Mexico do not even apply to the three strikes law. This is the few of the reasons why New Mexico crime rate is still high.

With such a high detriment to society and nonviolent offenders, 16 states have modified the law by removing mandatory sentences and replacing them with sentencing ranges (Peak, 2012). Eleven states changed the law to provide judicial discretion, and seven put a limit on the circumstances in which an offender is sentenced to life without parole (Peak, 2012). According to Walsh (2007), some states have decided to reform their laws by exempting drug offenders from mandatory sentencing provision and instead provide treatment programs. Although, in the case of California, the three strike law remained in effect for 18 years before it was finally amended in 2012(pp. 152-154). The amended law requires the new felony to be a serious or violent felony (instead of any felony)with two or more prior strikes, and any offenders charge under the previous law can now petition the court for a reduction in their sentencing term (Couzens & Bigelow,

The three strikes laws are different from state to state as each has its own variation of this law. The purpose of

The purpose of the Three Strikes Law is to reduce serious or violent crime rates and provide a means to practice racial disparity in sentencing. The law is also intended to give longer sentences to offenders who are convicted three times. Usually, the first and second convictions result in punishment, but of a more routine appeal. Justice James A. Ardaiz, the Fifth Appellate District of California explained,

One of the most controversial laws in the efforts to reduce crime has been the "three-strikes" laws that have been enacted. This law, which is already in twenty-seven states, requires that offenders convicted of three violent crimes be sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole. The law is based on the idea that the majority of felonies are committed by about 6% of hard core criminals and that crime can be eliminated by getting these criminals off the streets. Unfortunately, the law fails to take into account its own flaws and how it is implemented.

Giving second chances or third chances are often difficult tasks when dealing with personal issues and relationships, but when crime is involved, the flood gates open wide with varying opinions. Questions of all degrees become intertwined with the basis of the crime, the type of victimization that took place, and how ‘morally wrong’ we as citizens view this criminal act. Oftentimes citizens, prosecutors, and even judges focus on what type of crime has been committed, but overlook the person behind that action. A human, whom based on their circumstances, needs additional support in one way or another in their life.

Two violations of three-strike laws are a form of the habitual offender statute. A habitual offender