A three strikes law is a law that is supposed to make sure that habitual offenders who are convicted of three felonies are sentenced 25 years up to life in prison (Samaha, 2011, p. 67). California, who passed the law in 1994, has the toughest law in the nation because its law also includes a 25 year to life sentence if you are “out” on a third strike (Samaha, p. 67). This law in California passed after Richard Allen Davis kidnapped, brutally beat and murdered 12 year old Polly Klaas in 1993 (Samaha, p. 67). Besides California, twenty four other states such as Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Florida have passed this law. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the three strikes law is constitutional (Samaha, p. 67). In Ewing v. California, the Supreme Court upheld his conviction of felony grand theft and stated that his sentence did not violate the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment (Samaha, p. 68).
The three strikes law has been criticized by some and upheld by others. Those who support the three strikes law contend that the crime rates have decreased. This suggests that the three strikes law is a deterrent and that locking up offenders does prevent crime because the repeat offenders stay in prison. The advocates of this law feel that the criminals are constantly “slipping thru the cracks” and crimes nowadays are committed by repeat offenders. The three strikes law to them ensures that justice will be done. Another pro for the three strikes law is that hopefully it will serve as a deterrent also to those who have two convictions. The three strikes law applies to three convictions and not three crimes. As such, there are cons to the three strikes law. Some feel that this law doesn’t allow states and judges any flexibility in determining the punishment of a crime. Judges has always had the right to use...