3 three strikes

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</div><div>=</div><div>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law</div><div>
</div><div>In the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States</a>, habitual offender laws<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a> (commonly referred to as three-strikes laws) were first implemented on March 7, 1994<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-sandiegocounty.gov-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a> and are part of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Justice_Department" class="mw-redirect" title="United States Justice Department" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States Justice Department</a>'s Anti-Violence Strategy.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a>These <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law" title="Law" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">laws</a> require a person guilty of committing both a severe violent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony" title="Felony" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">felony</a> and two other previous convictions to serve a mandatory <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_sentence" class="mw-redirect" title="Life sentence" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">life sentence</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison" title="Prison" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">prison</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a> The purpose of the laws is to drastically increase the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punishment" title="Punishment" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">punishment</a> of those convicted of more than two serious <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime" title="Crime" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">crimes</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-sandiegocounty.gov-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a>Twenty-eight <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.state" title="U.S. state" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">states</a> have some form of a "three-strikes" law. A person accused under such laws is referred to in a few states (notably <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut" title="Connecticut" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Connecticut</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas" title="Kansas" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kansas</a>) as a "persistent offender", while <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri" title="Missouri" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Missouri</a> uses the unique term "prior and persistent offender". In most jurisdictions, only crimes at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony" title="Felony" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">felony</a> level qualify as serious offenses; however, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misdemeanor" title="Misdemeanor" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">misdemeanor</a> and/or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_offence" title="Hybrid offence" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">wobbler</a> offenses can qualify for application of the three-strikes law in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_36,2012" title="California Proposition 36, 2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">California</a>, whose harsh application has been the subject of controversy.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a>The three-strikes law significantly increases the prison sentences of persons convicted of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony" title="Felony" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">felony</a> who have been previously convicted of two or more violent crimes or serious felonies, and limits the ability of these offenders to receive a punishment other than a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_imprisonment" title="Life imprisonment" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">life sentence</a>.The expression "Three strikes and you are out" is derived from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball" title="Baseball" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">baseball</a>, where a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batting(baseball)" title="Batting (baseball)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">batter</a> against whom three strikes are recorded <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikeout" title="Strikeout" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">strikes out</a>.<div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="direction: ltr; position: absolute; opacity: 0; display: none;" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#History" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1History</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#Enactment_by_states" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2Enactment by states</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#Application" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3Application</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#Effects" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4Effects</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#United_States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.1United States</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#New_Zealand" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.2New Zealand</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#See_also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6References</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">History[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Three-strikes_law&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>The practice of imposing longer prison sentences on repeat offenders (versus first-time offenders who commit the same crime) is nothing new, as judges often take into consideration prior offenses when sentencing. However, there is a more recent history of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_prison_sentences" class="mw-redirect" title="Mandatory prison sentences" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">mandatory prison sentences</a> for repeat offenders.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a> For example, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State" class="mw-redirect" title="New York State" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">New York State</a> had a long-standing Persistent Felony Offender law dating back to the early 20th century<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a>(partially ruled unconstitutional in 2010,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a> but reaffirmed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_banc" title="En banc" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">en banc</a> shortly after<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a>). But such sentences were not compulsory in each case, and judges had much more discretion as to what term of incarceration should be imposed.The first true "three-strikes" law was passed in 1993, when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington(state)" title="Washington (state)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Washington</a> voters approved <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Washington_initiatives_to_the_people#1993" title="List of Washington initiatives to the people" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Initiative 593</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California" title="California" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">California</a> passed its own in 1994, when their voters passed Proposition 184<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a> by an overwhelming majority, with 72% in favor and 28% against. The initiative proposed to the voters had the title of Three Strikes and You're Out, referring to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_facto" title="De facto" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">de facto</a> life imprisonment after being convicted of three violent or serious felonies which are listed under California Penal Code section 1192.7.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a>The concept swiftly spread to other states, but none of them chose to adopt a law as sweeping as California's. By 2004, twenty-six states and the federal government had laws that satisfy the general criteria for designation as "three-strikes" statutes—namely, that a third felony conviction brings a sentence of 20 to life where 20 years must be served before becoming parole eligible. After the hype leading to the institution of these laws across the country, it soon became apparent that they were not bringing the results the public expected. Data shows that the laws didn't necessarily reduce violent crime, but instead, in states such as California where a "strike" did not have to be a violent felony, put away more "criminals" for non-violent and petty crimes, dramatically raising the prison population.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a> This led to the drastic reduction of the power of the Three-Strikes Law in California in 2012 by approval of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_36(2012)" class="mw-redirect" title="California Proposition 36 (2012)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Proposition 36</a>.<h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Enactment by states</h2>The following states have enacted three-strikes laws:<ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229.5%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%2300528c%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E");"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">New York has employed a habitual felon statute since 1797.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[17]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Maryland has had a habitual felon statute for violent offenders since 1975. The law was amended in 1994, meaning that a fourth conviction for a crime of violence mandates a sentence of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_imprisonment" title="Life imprisonment" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">life imprisonment</a> without parole.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Texas has had a three-strikes with mandatory life sentence since at least 1952.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[18]</a><ul style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229.5%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%2300528c%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E");"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rummel_v.Estelle" title="Rummel v. Estelle" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Rummel v. Estelle</a> (1980), the US Supreme Court upheld Texas' statute, which arose from a case involving a refusal to repay $120.75 paid for air conditioning repair that was, depending on the source cited, either considered unsatisfactory<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[19]</a> or not performed at all,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-findLaw-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[20]</a> where the defendant had been convicted of two prior felony convictions, and where the total amount involved from all three felonies was around $230.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[21]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[22]</a></li></ul></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In 1993: Washington</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In 1994: California,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[23]</a> Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Georgia<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[24]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In 1995: Arkansas, Florida, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, and Vermont<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-Three_Strikes_and_You're_Out:The_Implementation_and_Impart_of_Strike_Laws-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[25]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In 2006: Arizona</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In 2012: Massachusetts<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-26" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">[26]</a></li></ul><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Application</h2>The exact application of the three-strikes laws varies considerably from state to state, but the laws call for life sentences for at least 25 years on their third strike. In the state of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland" title="Maryland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Maryland</a>, any person who receives their fourth strike for any crime of violence will automatically be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.Most states require one or more of the three felony convictions to be for violent crimes in order for the mandatory sentence to be pronounced. Crimes that fall under the category of "violent" include: murder, kidnapping, sexual abuse, rape, aggravated robbery, and aggravated assault.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[27]</a>Some states include additional, lesser offenses that one would not normally see as violent.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[28]</a> For example, the list of crimes that count as serious or violent in the state of California is much longer than that of other states, and consists of many lesser offenses that include: firearm violations, burglary, simple robbery, arson, and providing hard drugs to a minor, and drug possession.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a> As another example, Texas does not require any of the three felony convictions to be violent, but specifically excludes certain "state jail felonies" from being counted for enhancement purposes.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a>One application of a three-strikes law was the Leonardo Andrade case in California in 2009. In this case, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockyer_v.Andrade" title="Lockyer v. Andrade" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Leandro Andrade</a> attempted to rob $153 in videotapes from two San Bernardino K-Mart stores. He was charged under California's three-strikes law because of his criminal history concerning drugs and other burglaries. Because of his past criminal records, he was sentenced 50 years in prison with no parole after this last burglary of K-Mart. Although this sentencing was disputed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Chemerinsky" title="Erwin Chemerinsky" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Erwin Chemerinsky</a>, who represented Andrade, as cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th Amendment, the Supreme Court ruled in support for the life sentencing.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[31]</a>In 1995, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sioux_City,Iowa" title="Sioux City, Iowa" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sioux City, Iowa</a> native <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Lee_Farmer" title="Tommy Lee Farmer" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Tommy Lee Farmer</a>, a professional criminal who had served 43 years in prison for murder and armed robbery was the first person in the United States to be convicted under the federal three-strikes law when he was sentenced to life in prison for an attempted robbery at an eastern Iowa convenience store. The sentencing was considered so significant that President Bill Clinton interrupted a vacation to make a press statement about it.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[32]</a>Another example of the three-strikes law involves <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_L.Tyler" title="Timothy L. Tyler" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Timothy L. Tyler</a> who, in 1992 at age 24, was sentenced to life in prison without parole when his third conviction (a federal offense) triggered the federal three-strikes law, even though his two prior convictions were not considered violent, and neither conviction resulted in any prison time served.<h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Effects[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Three-strikes_law&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Effects" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">United States[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Three-strikes_law&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>Some states, such as California, have seen dramatic drops in their crime rates since the enactment of the Three- Strikes Law. In 2011, Los Angeles, California reported crime had decreased by half of the current amount since 1994, which is the same year the Three- Strikes Law was put into place. Although this decrease in crime might be attributed to the enactment of stricter sentences, Los Angeles officials speculate the drop in crime might also be related to better relationships within the community and better crime-predicting tools.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a>In 2004, The Effect of Three- Strikes Legislation on Serious Crime in California study analyzed the effect of the Three- Strikes legislation as a means of deterrence and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incapacitation(penology)" title="Incapacitation (penology)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">incapacitation</a>. The study found that the Three- Strikes Law did not have a very significant effect on deterrence of crime, but also that this<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[34]</a> ineffectiveness may be due to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminishing_marginal_returns" class="mw-redirect" title="Diminishing marginal returns" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">diminishing marginal returns</a> associated with having pre-existing repeat offender laws in place.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-Stolzenberg_1997_457-469-35" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[35]</a>A study, Does Three Strikes Deter? A Non-Parametric Estimation, published by researches at George Mason University found that arrest rates in California were up to 20% lower for the group of offenders convicted of two-strike eligible offenses, compared to those convicted of one-strike eligible offenses. The study concluded that the three-strikes policy was deterring recidivists from committing crimes.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[36]</a>A study written by Robert Parker, director of the Presley Center for Crime and Justice Studies at UC Riverside, states that, violent crime began falling almost two years before California's three-strikes law was enacted in 1994. The study argues that the decrease in crime is linked to lower alcohol consumption and unemployment.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[37]</a>A 2007 study from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Institute_of_Justice" title="Vera Institute of Justice" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vera Institute of Justice</a> in New York examined the effectiveness of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incapacitation(penology)" title="Incapacitation (penology)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">incapacitation</a> under all forms of sentencing. The study estimated that if US incarceration rates were increased by 10 per cent, the crime rate would decrease by at least 2%. However, this action would be extremely costly to implement.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-38" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[38]</a>Another study, I'd rather be Hanged for a Sheep than a Lamb: The Unintended Consequences of 'Three-Strikes' Laws, released by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Bureau_of_Economic_Research" title="National Bureau of Economic Research" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">National Bureau of Economic Research</a> found that three-strikes laws discourage criminals from committing misdemeanors for fear of a life prison sentence. Although this deters crime and contributes to lower crime rates, the laws may possibly push previously convicted criminals to commit more serious offenses. The study's author argues that this is so because under such laws, felons realize that they could face a long jail sentence for their next crime, and therefore they have little to lose by committing serious crimes rather than minor offenses. Through these findings, the study weighs both the pros and cons for the law.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-39" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[39]</a>A 2015 study found that three-strikes laws were associated with a 33% increase in the risk of fatal assaults on law enforcement officers.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-40" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[40]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">New Zealand[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Three-strikes_law&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: New Zealand" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>In 2010, New Zealand enacted a similar three-strikes law called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentencing_and_Parole_Reform_Act_2010" title="Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-41" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[41]</a> The bill was sponsored by Police and Corrections Minister <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Collins" title="Judith Collins" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Judith Collins</a> from the ruling <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_National_Party" title="New Zealand National Party" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">National Party</a>. It was passed into law by the National and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACT_New_Zealand" title="ACT New Zealand" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ACT</a> parties but was opposed by the opposition <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Labour_Party" title="New Zealand Labour Party" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Labour</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_of_Aotearoa_New_Zealand" title="Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Green</a> parties, and National's support partner, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_Party" title="Māori Party" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Māori Party</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-42" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[42]</a> While the Sentencing and Parole Act was supported by conservative groups such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensible_Sentencing_Trust" title="Sensible Sentencing Trust" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sensible Sentencing Trust</a>, critics attacked the law for promoting penal populism and disproportionately targeting the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_people" title="Māori people" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Māori community</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-43" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[43]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-44" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[44]</a>In early June 2018, an attempt by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Labour_Government_of_New_Zealand" title="Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Labour-led coalition government</a> to overturn the Sentencing and Parole Act was blocked by Labour's support partner <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_First" title="New Zealand First" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">New Zealand First</a> and the opposition National and ACT parties. NZ First had indicated its opposition to overturning the three-strikes bill, prompting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_of_Justice(New_Zealand)" title="Minister of Justice (New Zealand)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Justice Minister</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Little(New_Zealand_politician)" title="Andrew Little (New Zealand politician)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Andrew Little</a> to abandon the attempt.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-45" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[45]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-46" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[46]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law#cite_note-47" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[47]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">See also[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Three-strikes_law&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: See also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div class="div-col columns column-width" style="margin-top: 0.3em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); column-width: 22em;"><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229.5%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%2300528c%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E");"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10-20-Life" title="10-20-Life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">10-20-Life</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Career_Criminal_Act" title="Armed Career Criminal Act" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Armed Career Criminal Act</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baumes_law" title="Baumes law" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Baumes law</a>, 1926 four strike law</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deterrence(legal)" title="Deterrence (legal)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Deterrence</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitual_offender" title="Habitual offender" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Habitual offender laws</a>, a comparison of similar laws in several countries</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HADOPI_law" title="HADOPI law" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">HADOPI law</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incapacitation(penology)" title="Incapacitation (penology)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Incapacitation (penology)</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indefinite_prison_sentence" class="mw-redirect" title="Indefinite prison sentence" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Indefinite prison sentence</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_sentencing" title="Mandatory sentencing" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mandatory sentencing</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_strike,you%27re_out" title="One strike, you're out" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">One strike, you're out</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison-industrial_complex" class="mw-redirect" title="Prison-industrial complex" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Prison-industrial complex</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recidivism" title="Recidivism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Recidivism</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Alfonso_Cerna" title="Ricardo Alfonso Cerna" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ricardo Alfonso Cerna</a>, a 47-year old man who committed suicide in 2003 after being arrested for attempted murder, which would have been his third strike</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Law_School_Criminal_Defense_Clinic" class="mw-redirect" title="Stanford Law School Criminal Defense Clinic" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Stanford Law School Criminal Defense Clinic</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Federal_Sentencing_Guidelines" title="United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">References</h2></div><div>=IS NRA a front for more than gun mfg?hodai: 
Three strikes called for mandatory life imprisonment for a third felony conviction. In some states this was interpreted as life imprisonment for a third violent offense conviction, while in others, such as California, the law was enacted in such a way as to include those convicted of petty offenses such as shoplifting. [PLN was the first media to report the instrumental role the NRA played in bankrolling Washington’s Three Strikes law in 1993 (the first in the nation) and Washington State’s “Hard Time for Armed Crime” initiative in 1995.]

The NRA campaign, dubbed “CrimeStrike,” headed by victim’s rights advocate and former Arizona Chief Assistant Attorney General Steve Twist, was seen by many as a reactionary strike at the Clinton administration’s gun control efforts when it moved into high gear in 1993. CrimeStrike was the campaign which set forth the precept that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” As such, CrimeStrike promoted state and federal tough-on-crime legislation and derided any lawmaker backing gun control as being “soft on crime.”

With memories of the Willie Horton disaster of the failed 1988 Michael Dukakis presidential campaign still fresh in the minds of most American legislators, this accusation invariably hit a raw nerve among Democrats and elicited kneejerk support of the laws.

While the NRA was busy pushing these laws through CrimeStrike, ALEC was pushing its agenda in Pennsylvania with the help of former Herbert-Walker Bush U.S. Attorney General William Barr and ALEC member, then-Pennsylvania governor, and future director of the Department of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge.

In 1995, the Pennsylvania legislature passed several tough-on-crime bills based on ALEC proposals and model legislation. In 2005, while serving as Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, state Rep. John Perzel, an ALEC member and Pennsylvania House Majority Leader from 1995 to 2003, joined GEO Group’sboard of directors.=</div><div>===</div>