Реферат: Stike Out Three Strikes Essay Research Paper

strikes legislation is targeting non-violent offenders, as opposed to its goal of targeting

violent criminals.

After one year in effect it is easy to see what our three-strikes legislation has done.

It has become easy to picture the long term effects of such broad legislation on our

society. Although this law was enacted by the will of the people, it has not carried out the

will of the people. People wanted a law that would put dangerous repeat offenders behind

bars for life. Instead we are now putting an increasingly large number of non-violent

offenders behind bars for extended periods of time. It would be easy to justify the cost of

removing a violent menace from our society, but justifying the cost of imprisoning people

who are of no threat to anyone but themselves is difficult. We must look closely at what

this legislation has done so far. It has placed many more non-violent offenders in prison

than violent offenders. The legislation stands to cost the state millions of dollars per year

to incarcerate people of longer prison terms. Clearly the three-strikes law has not served

its intended purpose it must be repealed.

California. California Penal Code.

Carter, Beth. “The Impact of `Three Strikes and You’re Out’ Laws: What Have We

Learned?” Internet Article. Http://www.soc.umn.edu/ samaha/j11H1.html.

The Cost of Mandatory Minimums. Pamphlet. Families Against Mandatory Minimums,

1996.

Franklin, Daniel. “The Right Three Strikes.” Washington Monthly September 1994: 25-

30.

Mauer, Marc. “Three Strikes Policy is Just a Quick-fix Solution.” Corrections Today

July 1996: 23.

Ogutu, Fenno. Class lecture. Sociology 120. Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, CA.

13 Nov. 1996.