"Three strikes" law: fair or Foul?. (Debate).Should someone spend 50 years in prison for stealing videos worth $ 153? A California man recently got that sentence under the state's "three strikes" law. Under three strikes laws Criminal statutes that mandate increased sentences for repeat offenders, usually after three serious crimes. Beginning in the early 1990s, states began to enact mandatory sentencing laws for repeat criminal offenders. , offenders face long mandatory sentences if convicted of a felony felony (fĕl`ənē), any grave crime, in contrast to a misdemeanor, that is so declared in statute or was so considered in common law. (serious crime) three times. Twenty-six states have three strikes laws, but California's is the toughest. It allows a minor crime to be treated as a felony after a third offense. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide if California's law violates the Constitution's protection against "cruel and unusual punishment Such punishment as would amount to torture or barbarity, any cruel and degrading punishment not known to the Common Law, or any fine, penalty, confinement, or treatment that is so disproportionate to the offense as to shock the moral sense of the community. ." Is California's three strikes law fair? yes Three strikes laws may sound cruel. But it is unfair, and possibly dangerous, to let career criminals stay on the streets where they can commit more crimes. California's law helps to keep offenders from committing additional crimes. California Secretary of State Bill Jones, who helped to sponsor the law in 1994, says that since then, California's crime rate has declined 41 percent--more than twice the national average. "We clearly focused the law on that small percentage of the criminal population that commits the vast majority of the crime in our society," said Jones. California's law is fair because people know what will happen if they commit three crimes. If an individual wants to avoid prison, he or she can do what law-abiding citizens do all the time--the right thing. California's law sends a clear message: Crime doesn't pay. no California's three strikes law is unfair. Gary Ewing Garrison Arthur "Gary" Ewing, was a character in the American television series Knots Landing and also in the television series Dallas. The character of Gary Ewing was played most notably by Ted Shackelford (1979-1993) and briefly played by David Ackroyd stole golf clubs worth $1,200. Normally, he'd get a one-year sentence for such a crime. But because of California's harsh three strikes law, he got 25 years. That's too much. Long sentences for such crimes amount to "cruel and unusual" punishment--a violation of the Eighth Amendment. Locking up people for minor crimes doesn't work. Being in prison teaches petty Petty girl airbrushed beauty, scantily clad in Esquire’s pages. [Am. Lit.: Misc.] See : Sex Symbols thieves List of Thieves. Famous
That money would be better spent on schools--which help people avoid a life of crime. As the Reverend Jesse Jackson Noun 1. Jesse Jackson - United States civil rights leader who led a national campaign against racial discrimination and ran for presidential nomination (born in 1941) Jesse Louis Jackson, Jackson said, "We are increasingly becoming a nation of first-class jails and second-class schools." 
Sarah Payne (Member): 4/15/2010 9:39 AM
Im actually taking part in a debate that revolves around this subject matter and this has been quite helpful. Personally I believe that the three strike law is fair as it takes account of all three crimes not just the last crime. You have to remember that the offender has commuted previous crimes and even if they have stole cookies or videos on their last crime they have put themselves in a position for life sentence and its their fault and the punishment inst just based on their last crime. Additionally psychologists have said that once a person three or more crimes it indicates that they could be career criminals and are more likely to re offend and therefore it makes sense to give life as the criminals' crimes could escalate into larger, more serious crimes.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion