What are three-strikes laws, and why are they so popular? Are they generally found to be effective?
What will be an ideal response?
Three-strikes laws are a form of mandatory sentencing that give lengthy prison sentences-often 25 years to life-to any person convicted of three felony offenses. About half the states have three-strikes laws, although they require the third felony to be a serious one. Three-strikes laws have political appeal because legislators often feel pressured by constituents to do something about crime. These laws are popular with a public concerned about the crime rate. However, research done on three-strikes laws has found that they generally have little or no effect on crime. Opponents of the three-strikes laws have a few explanations for why the laws might not be as effective as they seem to be on the surface. One is that many people receiving their third strike are on the verge of aging out of crime, so locking them up has little effect on crime rates. A second reason is that current sentences for violent chronic offenders are already severe, but these punishments seem to have had little success in reducing national violence rates. Third, criminals typically underestimate their risk of apprehension, meaning they are not deterred from committing the crime by these laws.
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