Stratified sampling will allow the research team to take these prejudices into account when examining the data so as to avoid any skewing resulting from prejudices.
The potential population in this study is clearly defined. Although the effect of the three strike rule on the general public cannot be completely disregarded, it is more likely that the general public is more greatly affected by generalized criminal statutes to govern their behavior than the possibility that they may be subject to eventual three strike rule enforcement. As already pointed out, random interviews will be conducted with prosecutors, defense counsel, judges, probation officials, jail and prison personnel, and incarcerated and previously incarcerated criminals.

The location of all interviews will be in sites as neutral as possible. This is particularly important in the interviews of the convicted criminals. Said interviews must be afforded every opportunity to feel comfortable and free of any potential form…...

Three Strike Law:
The Three Strikes Laws are policies in the criminal justice system that target repeat criminals and are enacted by many states. Following three distinct offense convictions or strikes, offenders are locked out of society by being sentenced to life imprisonment. The reason behind the Three Strike Law is that offenders who commit crimes repeatedly are likely to pose a serious threat to the society and should be jailed in order to protect the society ("Understanding Three Strikes," n.d.). In many states, Three Strike laws only consider serious or violent crimes as the first two strikes with a considerably lower threshold for the third strike. This lower threshold for the third strike includes crimes like forgery and shoplifting, which may result in a sentence of between 25 years to life imprisonment.

The Three Strike Law was first incorporated in the criminal justice system in early 1990s when California adopted…...

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References:

Messerli, J. (2006, October 15). Is the Three-Strikes Law, Which Provides Mandatory 25-to-life

Sentences for a Third Felony Conviction, A Good Idea? Retrieved August 12, 2011, from  http://www.balancedpolitics.org/three_strikes.htm 

"Understanding "Three Strikes and You're Out" Laws." (n.d.). Total Criminal Defense.

Retrieved August 12, 2011, from  http://www.totalcriminaldefense.com/overview/three-strikes-law.aspx

Introduction Californian lawmakers and citizens, in the year 1994, ratified a key amendment in the crime sentencing regulation of the nation (touted as ‘Three Strikes and You’re Out’ or the ‘Three Strikes Law’). Implemented by the state legislature under Chapter 12 of the 1994 Statutes (AB 971, Jones) and by California’s electorate under Proposition 184, one of the main elements of this regulation is that it mandates at least twenty-five years of life imprisonment in case of individuals convicted thrice for several past aggressive or major felonies (Brown and Jolivette; Diamond). This rule was enacted following concerns raised after the perpetration of a number of high profile homicides by ex-convicts. Society began to widely believe that violent criminals who acquired release from jail went on to perpetrate novel, and usually more brutal and major, offences. In this paper, the regulation’s effect will be explored and how far it has successfully accomplished its goals…...

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Works cited

Brown, Brian, and Greg Jolivette. A primer: Three strikes: The impact after more than a decade. Legislative Analyst\\'s Office, 2005. Web.

Miller, Bettye. “Evidence Does Not Support Three-strikes Law as Crime Deterrent.” UCR Today. (2012). Web.

Sutton, John R. \\"Symbol and substance: Effects of California\\'s Three Strikes law on felony sentencing.\\" Law & Society Review 47.1 (2013): 37-72. Print.

Taibbi, Matt. \\"Cruel and unusual punishment: The shame of three strikes laws.\\" Rolling Stone 27 (2013). Web.

The New York Times. “3 Strikes and You\\'re Out: After 20 Years, Is the Law Working? | Retro Report | The New York Times.” Youtube. (2013). Web.

California Three-Strike Law
In California, there is a serious attempt of controlling crime. Various laws have been enacted to control the criminals who are repeatedly being caught for serious crimes. Penal Code 1170.12 (Proposition 184) was one such law passed by the citizens in March 1994 to deal with the criminals. The Penal Code is popularly known as "Three Strikes and you are out." It all started when Mike Reynolds drafted legislation in response to his daughter Kimber Reynolds being murdered by a career criminal. The bill was killed in the committee itself. (Vitiello, 1997) Then Reynolds started collecting signatures to get the bill through. In the meantime, another innocent 12-year-old girl Polly Klaas was kidnapped during a slumber party, and subsequently murdered. Here also the criminal was a prior criminal with conviction for kidnapping and burglary. This became an emotional issue and the law came into effect in 1994 in…...

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Bibliography

Vitiello, Michael. "Criminal Law: Three Strikes: Can We Return to rationality" 87, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, (1997) 395

Schuraldi, V. " Three Strikes: The Unintended Victims" Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, San Franciso, (1994).

Schultz, David. "No joy in Mudville Tonight: The Impact of 'Three Strike Laws' on State and Federal Corrections Policy, Resources and Crime Control," 9 Cornell, Journal of Law and Public Policy, (2000) 557,

You're Out! (The three-strikes law in California)" Los Angeles Magazine, (August 1999)

legislation, lawmakers need to focus on the public good, the possible repercussions of their actions, and most importantly, the "fairness" of their legislation. These three tenets seem to have been disregarded when California passed its 3-strikes law in 1994. The law has not only failed to serve the public good (both financially and in terms of crime), but it has created a dynamic within the criminal justice system that seeks to punish minor offenses, while shifting focus away from violent offenders. orst of all, the 3-strikes rule has proven to be blatantly unfair. Not only is it exceedingly harsh in its penalization of convicts (particularly those accused of nonviolent crimes), but it is also applied disproportionately to minorities and the poor.
In order to understand the 3-strikes law, it is important to explore its origins and original intents. New approaches to solving crime reached a breaking point in the early…...

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Works Cited

Butterfield, Fox. "Three Strikes Law in California Clogging Courts and Jails."

New York Times (Electronic Edition). 3 March 1995. Accessed 22 July 2003. www.nytimes.com.

Butterfield, Fox. "Intervening Programs Might Be More Effective than Three

Strikes." New York Times (Electronic Edition). 23 June 1996. Accessed 22 July 2003. www.nytimes.com.

Three Strikes Law
There are numerous problems associated with the prison system in the state of California. More than a few of these problems are directly caused by the state's infamous Three Strikes legislation -- in which individuals who receive three felonies are sentenced to 25 years to a life term in prison. In codifying the problems related to the state's prison system as identified by the essay written by the politician who was eligible for reelection, it becomes apparent that the most salient of these are the huge expense associated with quartering so many prisoners, overcrowding, and a lack of rehabilitation.

In 2010, the state spent a total of nearly 8 billion dollars to quarter, feed, and provide healthcare for prisoners, which represents a 12.2 percentage of costs outside of the state budget (Vera, 2012). These budgetary constraints are due in large part to the fact that the prisons are egregiously…...

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References

Ireland, J. (2001). "Pros & Cons of Free Universal Healthcare." www.livestrong.com.

Retrieved from  http://www.livestrong.com/article/30692-pros-cons-universal-health/#ixzz1t2lGiOFK// 

Rodriguez, S. (2013). California prison conditions driving prisoners to suicide. Solitary Watch. Retrieved from  http://solitarywatch.com/2013/03/15/california-prison-conditions-driving-prisoners-to-suicide/ 

Skolnick, A. (2011). Runaway Prison Costs Thrash State Budgets. The Fiscal Times, 9 Feb 2011. Retrieved from  http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/02/09/Runaway-Prison-Costs-Thrash-State-Budgets

herefore, by increasing the costs of imprisonment by the three strikes law, it is intended that there will be less crime. Marwell and Moody express several difficulties with the laws in the 24 states: Criminals are not always aware of the laws, at least not initially; repeat criminals can be expected to serve substantial prison terms even in the absence of the laws; almost all of the states already had habitual criminal statutes where criminals with prior convictions could be given lengthy sentences under the judge's discretion; the deterrent effect on homicides is limited in any case because the law most likely does not increase sanctions for homicides. However, the law may reduce homicides by deterring robberies and other felonies where homicides may take place; some criminals may limit their expected costs by taking evasive action, such as moving to another jurisdiction or to other areas of crime where…...

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Trends: Crime, the Police, and Civil Liberties

Greg M. Shaw; Robert Y. Shapiro; Shmuel Lock; Lawrence R. Jacobs

1998 62:405-426. Public Opinion Quarterly

Three Strikes Law on the African-American Community
Three Strikes legislation, which imposes sentencing enhancement on repeat offenders, often culminating with mandatory life sentences for third-time offenders, has gained popularity throughout the United States. The legislation began in California, where two highly publicized murders committed by convicted felons prompted an outcry against allowing recidivists to return to the community. California did see a decrease in crime rates following its institution of the Three Strikes policy, though there is considerable debate about whether the Three Strikes laws were responsible for that decline. Many other states adopted the legislation, so that about half of all states now have three strikes legislation. While these laws may not necessarily have the desired deterrence effect on crime, the general consensus appears to be that they are not harmful to society; therefore, even if they cannot be proven to be helpful, they should remain in place. However,…...

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References

Brown, B. & Jolivette, G. (2005). A primer: Three strikes- the impact after more than a decade.

Retrieved February 13, 2012 from Legislative Analyst's Office website:  http://www.lao.ca.gov/2005/3_strikes/3_strikes_102005.htm 

Goodno, N.H. (2007). Career criminal targeted: The verdict is in, California's Three Strikes law proves effective. Golden Gate U.L. Rev., 37(2), 461-485.

Jones, B. (1999). Why the Three Strikes law is working in California. Stanford Law & Policy

Locking up petty thieves and drug users (the overwhelming majority of them black and Latino males) for 25 years to life without the possibility of parole is a blatant violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment."
Summary and Conclusion

Changes are needed in order to address the critical problem of overcrowding in U.S. Prisons and as well the fact that there are so many non-violent offenders housed with hardened and violent criminal individuals is as well a problem in the present structure of the prison system. Only legislation of this law into a modified workable solution will address all the relevant issues brought on by the "Three Strikes" law.

Annotated Bibliography

Ehlers, Scott, et al. (2004) Still Striking Out Ten Years of California's Three Strikes Law 2004 September:

According to this work written and published in 2004: " the ten-year anniversary of the signing of the AB 971 "Three Strikes…...

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King, Ryan S. And Mauer, Marc (2001) Aging Behind Bars: "Three Strike" Seven Years Later 2001 August the Sentencing Project www.sentencingpr oject.:

The Sentencing Project conducted an analysis, which found that "three strikes sentencing will contribute substantially to the aging of the prison system." (Ryan & Mauer, 2001) Between the years of 1994 and 1998 the average age of the third strike inmate was 36.1 years of age. In the first five years after the law was first enacted number of those above the age of 40 raised from 15.3% in 1994 to 23.1% in 1999.

Criminal Justice & Three Strikes Law

Criminal Justice -- hree Strikes Law
Decades ago, America got tough on crime, especially when it involved habitual offenders. In order to reduce crime, at least 26 states passed hree Strikes Law giving especially long sentences to those offenders. he original hree Strikes Law had consequences that outweighed the benefits, so many states have amended or otherwise revised hree Strikes, usually reducing or eliminating mandatory maximum sentences and giving judges more discretion. Perhaps the most striking example is California, which enacted a very tough hree Strikes Law in 1994, suffered serious consequences, and then "reformed" the law. While states still wish to be tough on crime, they want to ensure that the benefits of hree Strikes Law outweigh its consequences.

Body

Overall Rationale of hree Strikes Law

he overall rationale of the "hree Strikes Law" is the significant reduction of crime. It supposedly reduces crime in two ways: by making it more difficult for…...

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The overall rationale of the "Three Strikes Law" is the significant reduction of crime. It supposedly reduces crime in two ways: by making it more difficult for repeat offenders to commit even more crimes during extended incarceration; and by discouraging other offenders from committing more crimes due to the threat of Three Strikes sentencing (Brown & Jolivette, 2005). Imprisonment is supposed to modify the behavior of offenders and discourage them from committing more crimes; however, "habitual offenders" - those who repeatedly commit serious crimes - are supposedly not responsive to behavior modification through imprisonment and not deterred by the prospect of prison. Consequently, the habitual offender is difficult for the justice system to handle, so this special law -- the "Three Strikes Law" -- was designed to deal with them (Brown & Jolivette, 2005).

The "Three Strikes Law" is a product of the "get tough on crime" movement in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s, when politicians seized on citizens' anger and fear of crime and made it a strong political issue (Vitiello, 1997, p. 395). Based on the baseball rule of "three strikes, you're out," the Three Strikes Law provides that a person who has been convicted of two serious criminal offenses (felonies), must be sentenced to an exceptionally long-term of incarceration if he/she is found guilty of committing a third offense (Sutton, 2013, p. 40). Variations of the Three Strikes Law were enacted in at least 26 states (Brown & Jolivette, 2005), with the earliest and most severe enacted in California in 1994 after two particularly heinous murders committed by repeat felony offenders. In California, the "third strike" could be designated at the prosecutor's discretion and did not need to be a serious crime (Sutton, 2013, p. 40).

While proponents of the Three Strikes Law maintain that it has reduced crime, the law had some alarming consequences. The disturbing consequences of California's Three Strikes Law are perhaps the most conspicuous. First, since the "third strike" could be designated by the prosecutor and did not need to be a serious crime, repeat offenders who committed petty and/or nonviolent third crimes were sentenced to life imprisonment. For three examples, repeat offenders were given life sentences for "stealing one dollar in loose change from a parked car, possessing less than a gram of narcotics, and attempting to break into a soup kitchen" (Stanford University, 2015). Secondly, the imposition of life sentences for petty nonviolent crimes contributed to prison overcrowding and added $19 billion to the state's prison budget because California had to incarcerate, guard, feed, clothe, medically care for and otherwise handle many more inmates (Stanford University, 2015). Third, California's Three Strikes Law disproportionately affects minorities (over 45% of whom are African-American),

Define the Problem
The defined and existing problem is going to vary in scope and definition depending on who is doing the defining. However, there are some clear and obvious problems with the “three strikes” law. The policy itself was meant to address a problem. However, that policy has created a new set of problems. Indeed, there are situations where three-time violent felons are justifiably put away for twenty-five years to life. However, the major problem with the policy are the human and budgetary costs that are created by people being thrown in jail for life for minor offenses (“Ewing v. California”, 2017). There is also the concern that some people are being thrown in jail even though they will soon “age out” of criminal behavior. Indeed, men in their 60’s are not able to crawl through windows, run and jump fences like someone in their 20’s or 30’s (Besemer, Ahmad,…...

From 1990-1993, prior to three-strikes, the CCI dropped a total of 2.4%. From 1994-1997, post three-strikes, the CCI dropped 30.8%. For violent offenses the decrease was 27% post three-strikes vs. An increase of 7% from 1990-1993 (eres and Griffith 106).

However, some argue that the drop in the crime rate actually began in 1993 with a significant drop before any impact from three-strikes. This does not imply that the huge drop in the crime rate post three-strikes was not due to that legislation. And it cannot be doubted that three-strikes definitely had a significant impact on the crime rate drop. However, other factors may have initiated the drop in crime in 1993, which also impacted the bigger drops after three-strikes. A booming California economy during that same time period is one explanation offered.

Similar Laws in other States?

Twenty-eight states have three-strike laws. Most are "similar" to California's. However there is one major…...

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Bibliography

Beres, L. And T. Griffith. "Did Three Strikes Cause the Recent Drop in California Crime?" November 1998. Loyola of Los Angeles Law School. 15 September 2009 .

Messerli, J. "Is the three-strikes law, which provides mandatory 25-to-life sentences for a third felony conviction, a good idea?" 15 October 2006. Balancedpolitics.org. 14 September 2009 .

Total Criminal Defense. "Understanding Three Strikes and You're Out Laws." n.d. Total Criminal Defense. 14 September 2009 .

Three Strikes
High crime rates are a societal problem that has changed the manner in which society functions. ecognizing the adverse effects that crime has on communities the state of California has implemented a three strikes law designed to deter crime particularly as it pertains to repeat offenders. The propose research will examine the effectiveness of California's three strike law as it pertains to deterring recidivism. Statistical data concerning crime rates and rates of recidivism following the enactment of the law will be analyzed and compared to the same statistic prior to the passage of the law. The results will examine the extent to which the deterrence effect has been effective as it pertains to the three strikes law.

Background

Crime is a major social problem throughout the country. More specifically criminals who are repeat offenders make up a substantial number of the individuals that commit crime. With this understood many, states throughout…...

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References

Chen, Elsa Y (2008) .Impacts of "Three Strikes and You're Out" on Crime Trends in California and Throughout the United States. Journal of contemporary criminal justice. 24(4), 345

Goodno, N.H. (2007) Career Criminals Targeted: The Verdict is in, California's Three Strikes Law Proves Effective. Golden Gate University law review. 37(2), 461

Refine or alter search

Helland E., Tabarrok, A. (2007) Does Three Strikes Deter? A Non-Parametric Estimation. Journal of Human Resources, 42 (2) p309-330

Correctional Development 3 Strikes
As California goes, some say, so goes the nation. here is little doubt but that the single most important event in recent correctional history in the nation's progressive state was the development of the hree Strikes laws. Having accepted this idea, the state is now faced with massive budget shortfalls and is confronting federal court orders to immediately and dramatically reduce its prison populations simply because it is too full to treat appropriately all of those put into prison under this get-tough idea.

he hree Strikes law came about following a number of specific crime incidents and legislative actions. A timeline of the evolution of these events has been developed by National Public Radio. he key elements of the effort began formally with Republican Governor Pete Wilson signing the originating legislation into law in March 1994. he law was recognized as being more severe than the approaches of…...

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The Three Strikes law came about following a number of specific crime incidents and legislative actions. A timeline of the evolution of these events has been developed by National Public Radio. The key elements of the effort began formally with Republican Governor Pete Wilson signing the originating legislation into law in March 1994. The law was recognized as being more severe than the approaches of other states, but basically a mandatory life sentence was required for persons convicted of three felonies (though in actuality the person could be paroled after 25 years). Apparently not yet satisfied, the public followed that move by passing a state electoral initiative that added more stringency to the law, hoping to make it difficult for judges to waiver in the sentences they provided. From that point forward, various legal challenge and sensational stories kept the issue alive (such as the case of a person getting life for stealing a slice of pizza) and approved the concept. By the year 2000, the public was coming to grips with the impact of its decision and passed Proposition 36, which allowed offenders with drug use problems to get treatment instead of just prison time. In 2006, after the efforts of several legislators that would require the third offense to be a serious or violent offense, Governor Schwarzenegger refused to change the law, leaving it predominately in place and controlling California's get-tough strategies until today. [1: Tanya Ballard Brown. "Timeline: The Evolution Of California's Three Strikes Law," National Public Radio. Accessed January 26, 2012 at   ]http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114250301 .

By 2009, however, California was confronted with a reality that it would not be able to get around: It now has too many people in its prisons. A three-judge federal court review panel looked at California's system and ordered major reductions of prisoners, noting that the existing system was unable to maintain adequate health, mental health and related protections for the prisoners. California challenged the ruling but has now come face-to-face with the fact that the court's recommendations would have to stand. And now that state is being forced to undertake specific reforms that center on "shortening sentences, diverting nonviolent felons to county programs, giving inmates good behavior credits toward early release, and reforming parole." Tens of thousands of people are now being sent from state facilities to county facilities, which will likely force lesser offenders out of those jails even though there are few if any community correctional programs to send them to. As the panel put it: "The evidence is compelling that there is no relief other than a prisoner-release order that will remedy the unconstitutional prison conditions." [2: Solomon Moore, "Court orders California to cut prison population." February 9, 2009. The New York Times. Accessed on January 26, 2012 at   ]http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/us/10prison.html .

As recently as 2002, the ACLU was actively challenging the concept, posting on its website 10 reasons why Three Strikes was bad law (  Professionals in the field of criminal justice saw the experience differently, and in 2007, the editors of The Journal of the Institute for the Advancement of Criminal Justice offered an issue dedicated to why the law was working. As the editor of that publication put it, "The 'worst of the worst' are in prison where they belong, not in our neighborhoods committing more crimes and creating more victims. Three Strikes has slammed shut what was once a revolving door for career criminals." Perhaps, but the cost of doing this has been tremendous and the state may be swelling with opposition as the cost of stopping the worst offenders means putting to many other criminals back on to the streets. [3: David W. Paulson. IACJ From the Editor's Desk. Issue 1, Summer 2007. Accessed on January 26, 2012 at  http://www.iacj.org/PDF/IACJJournalIssue1.pdf . ]http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice_prisoners-rights_drug-law-reform_immigrants-rights/10-reasons-oppose-3-strikes-youre -).

Written into the legal changes would be protocols for review of cases to re-determine parole eligibility in certain cases but especially those where the latter crimes were non-violent and relatively minor offences. Because of this review aspect the legal and physical changes of this alternative is the most effective in both the short-term and long-term, of dealing with prison overcrowding. This alternative was chosen, not because it is the least costly, as it will likely be one of the most costly solutions, but because it has the greatest possibility for making real change in the overcrowding problem and rebalancing the system to create sustainability in the future. The implementation of this change will begin with resources as reviewing many cases, will require thousands of man hours in and out of courtrooms and likely develop into a monumental task for already overburdened public prosecutors, defenders and judges. Changing the legal…...

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References

Appleman, L. (2010). The plea jury. Indiana Law Journal, 85(3), 731-776. Retrieved from. http://web.ebscohost.com.wf2dnvr15.webfeat.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&hid=108&sid=47f5bf92-4378-496c-a8a0-0fbebcc7710f%40sessionmgr114

Benefield, N.A. (2007, October 24). Private prisons increase capacity, save money, and improve services. Testimony to the Pennsylvania House Labor Relations Committee. In J. Haley (Ed.). Prisons: Current controversies. San Diego: Greenhaven Press.

Blodgett, N. (1987). Alternate sentencing. ABA Journal, 73(1), 32. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Clark, C.S. (1994, February 4). Prison overcrowding. Will building more prisons cut the crime rate? CQ Researcher, 4(5), 97-120. Retrieved from  http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/